Song of the Force
by Johan Herlon
Summary: Takes place in New Jedi Order: Dark Tide I & II. A young man is discovered to have amazing affinity for the Force, albeit he's a total antihero. The Dark Side beckons as the Yuuzhan Vong invasion becomes a bloody reality. What will he do?
1. Index, Dramatis Personae, Prologue

**Contents**

_**Chapters, etc**_

****

**Dramatis Personae:** _Main Characters; Others of Importance_

**Prologue: **_Afore the Flash-back_

**Chapter One: **_Who are you, Jahita Krass?_

**Chapter Two: **_Training Days_

**Chapter Three: **_Cruelty – why?_

**Chapter Four: **_New Friendships_

**Chapter Five: **_There is no Passion?_

**Chapter Six: **_Art of the Lightsabre_

**Chapter Seven: **_Backgrounds_

**Chapter Eight: **_Tears of Agapè_

**Chapter Nine: **_Dark Hunter(s)_

**Chapter Ten: **_Actions of Individuals_

**Chapter Eleven: **_Seek, and Ye Shall Find_

**Chapter Twelve: **_Different Predators_

**Chapter Thirteen: **_Shiala's Quest_

**Chapter Fourteen: **_New Encounters and Problems_

**Chapter Fifteen: **_Exeunt Flash-back et Vrilas K'tor_

**Chapter Sixteen: **_Dathomir Crescendo_

**Chapter Seventeen: **_Tears of Agapè II_

**Chapter Eighteen: **_Preludium: Jedi Redemption_

**Chapter Nineteen: **_Concerto: Battle of Ithor_

**Chapter Twenty: **_Postludium: Ruin_

**Epilogue:** _Song of the Force_

* * *

**Dramatis Personae**

_**Main Characters**_

****

**Jahita Krass**: Jedi student; human male.

**Shiala Meno**: Jedi Knight; captain, _Corellian Sparrow_; human female.

**Tarrik Wend**: Jedi Knight; human male.

**Eyoul Gaad**: Jedi Knight; Bith male.

**Vrilas K'tor**: Jedi Knight; spacer; captain, _Backspace_; human male. (_Vrilas K'tor appears by special courtesy of my good friend John Egholm_)

**Alkanor Feldacha**: Captain, _Inquisitor of Pain_; Yuuzhan Vong male.

**Daryut Njirg**: Master Shaper; Yuuzhan Vong male.

**Kam Solusar**: Jedi Master; human male.

**Tionne Solusar**: Jedi Knight/historian; human female.

**Gholpa Klutyrr**: Subaltern, _Inquisitor of Pain_; Yuuzhan Vong male.

_Others of Importance_

**Luke Skywalker**: Jedi Master; human male.

**Corran Horn**: Jedi Knight; human male.

**Kyp Durron**: Jedi Master; human male.

**Crem Telerik'ala**: Jedi Knight; Bothan male.

**Traest Kre'fey**: New Republic admiral, _Ralroost_; Bothan male.

**Gola'hum Huirti**: Priest of Yun-Yammka; Yuuzhan Vong male.

* * *

**Prologue**

_**Afore the Flash-back**_

****

Jahita Krass stood firm amidst the small group of Yuuzhan Vong warriors that had encircled him. He lifted the crimson red lightsabre up to his ear and felt the flow of the Force filling him up, leaving no corner of his body empty of its guidance. He let the Force flow freely and stretched his senses. He felt the empty spots, like little voids, where the Yuuzhan Vong warriors stood ready to strike him down. It was not possible for him to anticipate their movements, since the Force did not exist within them, but Jahita Krass had a surprise in store for them. They were fools to follow him into his lair. _Ignorant fools!_ He laughed quietly for himself. Though the Force could not tell him the movements of the Yuuzhan Vong warriors, it could tell him the movements of the small bacteria that rested upon them. Upon their entry, the Yuuzhan Vong had walked through a seemingly insignificant little waterfall – the gate to his temporary home – and that waterfall of green water held a great quantity of these small beings, whose microscopic bodies were part of the Force. They were living subjects and part of this galaxy.

Jahita smiled – now he would make them pay for all the deaths they had caused.

A single Yuuzhan Vong warrior stepped forward and held aloft an amphistaff – a snake, whose species can petrify themselves and are able to withstand a lightsabre. His pale grey, horrid and disfigured face – mutilated in honour of his gods – smiled, or at least it seemed like it since the Yuuzhan Vong warrior had no lips. "Let us see if you are worthy, _Jeedai_!" the warrior mocked in very bad Basic, signalling that the battle had begun. The warriors made themselves ready to inflict deadly wounds, while chanting prayers to Yun-Yammka, the warrior god of the Vong.

Jahita ignored their chanting and felt the Force flow more strongly through him. He sought the images that he had seen in the Force as he had learned about the great Sith of old. He called upon the powers that dwelt within him – the powers bestowed upon him as he had surrendered to the darkness, which had called for him.

"You are no match for me. Your petty gods can't stand before the Dark Side," he said, closing his eyes.

The Yuuzhan Vong warriors went quiet as his words sank in – obviously understanding him. His insult was sacrilegious, filling them with rage. In fury, their leader ordered them to attack. With the vile battle cry, "_Do-ro'ik vong pratte!_" they charged Jahita, who stood silent, smiling. In the Force, he could see the movements of the small bacteria, which covered the bodies of the Yuuzhan Vong, and he began to dance. They did not stand a chance. By each turn, swing, and loop Jahita made a Yuuzhan Vong lost his head or more. Before long, only the leader remained to face the Force wielder.

Jahita stood still and opened his eyes, taking dark pleasure in what he could see. Around him lay dead Yuuzhan Vong warriors. In front of him was the leader, who was lacking a left arm now. He had come too close to Jahita's sabre, whilst trying to inflict a deadly blow to the Jedi.

"You insult the Yuuzhan Vong with your infidel mockeries and yet you fight as a worthy warrior. You shall die a warrior's death!"

Jahita answered him not, but waited for his move. Through the Force, he could see an image of the Yuuzhan Vong's body covered with the small bacteria, moving to his left flank while he held his remaining arm high. Jahita immediately reacted as the Yuuzhan Vong leapt to his left side, striking with the amphistaff, using his remaining arm. _All for naught_. Jahita knelt down and let the staff to fly over his head. Then he lifted his blade with his right hand and held it nearly diagonal. The half-flying Yuuzhan Vong had no chance in stopping himself. The energy blade cut itself through his flesh. He fell to the ground. Jahita turned off his lightsabre and looked at the leader.

The Yuuzhan Vong coughed a sentence in defiance, "Yuuzhan Vong…embrace death… Doom will…come…_Jeedai_." The eyes of the alien widened. He was dead.

Jahita looked around the room. _Such a mess_. However, he would not stay to clean it up. _More of these maniacs will surely come. This was only a scouting group_. _Blast it!_ _What can there be done to stop these destroyers of life?_ Jahita felt how anger welled up inside him. _Surely, the only thing that would stop the Yuuzhan Vong is the darkness_. He halted his thoughts. _Yuuzhan Vong are like the servants of evil, but the light does not affect them – then truly only the darkness can_…

Suddenly without warning, the tiredness arrived _again_. Every time the Force had filled him with tremendous power, he had become extremely exhausted. Many times, he had simply collapsed. He did not understand this fully and not even Master Skywalker could explain this. Jahita struggled to remain awake and tried to use the Force to help him. His first attempt almost failed. He fell to his knees, but fought to get up again. He could not afford falling asleep now – not when the Yuuzhan Vong could send more warriors. It meant certain death staying here – he only needed to get back to the ship. _Blasted aliens! No peace and no rest for the weary. I have to leave quickly_. Strength began to leave him again and he felt dizzy. He quickly took hold of the doorway so that he would not fall. His eyes and other senses slowly threatened to fail him. "Must not fall…" he whispered. A figure stood in front of him, or so it seemed. He tried to focus his eyes – tried to force them to see the approaching person. It was Shiala Meno. _How has she found me?_

"Jahita! Are you all right!" she almost shouted. She was accompanied by Tarrik Wend. They took hold of him and lifted him up. "Come, we must leave quickly. They've already sent more warriors," she said as they supported him in walking.

Jahita felt that he was about to collapse and struggled to ask them a question, "How did…y-you…find…?"

Shiala did not wait for him to finish his question. "Master Solusar sent me and Tarrik, when you left Yavin Four. It was quite a chase you lead us on."

Jahita did not reply. He had finally collapsed and almost dragged them with him on the floor. This stream of power had utterly drained him of his strength.

* * *

"Sithspit!" Tarrik said irritated and struggled to remain on his feet. "As if we don't have enough problems as it is."

Shiala ignored his statement and likewise tried to hold up the fainted student. She knew that this had happened before. She had witnessed it with her own eyes as Jahita had rescued her once from a pack of wild beasts on Yavin 4. That was during one of Jahita's many trips into the forest. He had sometimes suddenly run off into the wilderness, seeking solitude for reasons unknown to her. Of course, he was a little weird – at least to many of the other students at the Academy. However, her curiosity had prompted her to follow him in secrecy, which almost proved to be fatal for her.

If she only knew the cause of his need of solitude. If she only knew the things that had happened to him during his training on Yavin 4. If she only knew, then perhaps none of this would have ever happened.

* * *

_Introitus: Flash-back._


	2. Chapter One: Who are you, Jahita Krass?

**Chapter One**

**_Who are you, Jahita Krass?_**

A lone spacecraft passed the gas-giant Yavin, whose moon – Yavin 4 – orbited. A single young man sat behind the controls. It was Jahita Krass. He found it quite difficult controlling these '_very complicated things_' as he called them. He was not of the sort that loved piloting spacecrafts or fixing them. In fact, he hated it. He could recall a few incidents, such as stopping a long trail of spaceships, almost causing a major accident. Such were his flying skills.

But on the lighter side, his Force sensitivity had surfaced and he had gotten an invitation to come to the Jedi Academy. Jahita smiled. _Heck_, _who would have thought that I should become one of those fellows_. He had spent some time thinking about it first. He could not just leave Coruscant and head to Yavin 4 without telling his family first for starters. They had agreed to let him decide for himself. Some of his relatives had been proud of his choice, while others murmured about the rash Jedi, who took the law in their own hands – or so had some of the senators at least said in some of their very long speeches. However, Jahita did not care about politics. He only thought of the possibility of becoming a Jedi Knight. He had learned some of the history of the Jedi through extensive research – that is with a little help from some people he knew, who knew some people that knew some people, etc.

His thoughts were interrupted as the ship's displays signalled that he was approaching the atmosphere. Jahita had fortunately experience in entering atmospheres and had no problem in doing so here at Yavin 4, but as he approached the landing area, he noticed to his horror that he had forgotten to activate the repulsorlift coils. "By the Ffib!" he shouted as he saw how fast the ship was nearing the ground. He frantically tried to find the right controls. The alarms began to sound and lights were blinking red. "Where is it!"

Luckily, he noticed the button right under his left hand and quickly pressed it. The craft landed with a nasty bump, leaving Jahita gasping for his breath – he had almost forgotten to breathe. "Why, o why can't they just invent something more simple!" he said irritated and was about to stand up, forgetting to unfasten his seatbelt and was therefore even madder by the stinging pain. "FOR ALL THAT IS GOOD IN THE UNIVERSE!" he yelled and almost maniacally tried to loosen his seatbelt. It finally gave a comfortable click and Jahita quickly rose up from the pilot seat.

* * *

Outside stood Jedi Master Luke Skywalker. He had landed only moments ago after a journey to the Outer Rim. He became a bit worried as he watched the spacecraft land in a very bad manner. Some students nearby were also alarmed by the semi-crash. The hatch opened and a young man stepped out. His light brown hair seemed to be quite messed up and he clearly had hurt himself by something. He did not look strong-built and reminded Luke more of a bookworm-type. There was also the fact that he was a little pale, which indicated that he did not spend much time out in the sun. His eyes had a mixed grey-green colour. 

"Hi there," the young man said and tried to hide his pain. "I'm Jahita Krass. Ehm, thanks for the invitation."

"Welcome, Krass. Welcome to the Jedi Academy. Everything has been prepared for you. If you would come with me, please."

Krass was about to walk down the ramp, but had apparently forgotten something inside as he said, "Excuse me for a moment."

Luke smiled to him, but was unable to reply as Krass already had run inside. He suddenly heard a bump and an angry cry coming from inside the spacecraft, "OF ALL THE STUPIDEST, GOOD-FOR-NOTHING, UGLY, IRRITATING PIECES OF JUNK!"

The students nearby all turned their attention towards the shuttle. And out came Krass, humping with a backpack in his hand.

"Are you all right, Krass?" Luke said carefully.

"Aye, no prob," came the reply.

Luke smiled. "Well then, let me show you to your quarters."

"That would be nice, thank you," Jahita replied glad.

* * *

As they walked towards the Massassi temples, Jahita Krass could not help noticing that the students nearby were looking at him and whispering among themselves. _All right. It appears I really made an impression_, he thought, feeling a little awkward. 

The two of them entered a temple nearby. Jahita had never seen such structures before, except for the skyscrapers on Coruscant, but these were entirely different. The temples stood in majesty, towering above the surrounding green jungle. _All made out of rock! This surely isn't Coruscant._ "Hey, Master Skywalker, it must be really nice with no traffic in the air. I bet you have very few flying accidents," he said and grinned.

Luke gave him a peculiar look. "Ehm…yes, none what so ever."

_Great! No one ever gets my jokes. I hope that the others aren't that stiff_. He sighed.

* * *

After a little while, they approached the chambers of the students. Luke guided him to a room. "Here it is, Krass. All ready for you." 

The room was not big and yet not so small either. Actually, it was perfect for a single occupant. Inside were a bed and two chairs, as well as a wardrobe. There was only one window with no glass – green vines grew through it, but the jungle outside was quite visible despite the leaves. Beneath the window stood a table to which a glowlamp was fastened which was adjustable. The table also had a few coffers. "If you need anything, then don't hesitate to ask the other students. Try to get to know them. I'm sure that you'll make new friendships."

"Right. Thank you, Master Skywalker," Krass said and entered his new room. He dropped his backpack on the floor and almost dropped down on the bed. "Sure is nice to have solid ground beneath one's feet again."

Luke smiled. Krass's accent reminded him of his first mentor, Obi-Wan Kenobi. "I'm glad you like it, though the modest look. I will have an announcement in the Great Temple in an hour or so. Afterwards you will be taught your first lessons."

"Great! That's what I came here for, anyway. Heh heh," Krass grinned, but received no response to his laughter except for a nod.

"Well, I'll see you, then, Krass," Luke smiled to him and left.

* * *

Jahita sat alone on the bed. He almost hated foreign places that were filled with unknown people, but he really hoped that he would make some pals. _Speaking of which_, he thought, _I ought to check this place out_. He nodded mentally as he rose up from the bed, heading for the door. He stepped outside the room and closed the door. It was then that he noticed some students, three humans and a Bith, standing in the corridor. They were talking amongst themselves. 

Jahita could not discern what exactly they were talking about, but it really did not matter to him anyway. "Excuse me," he said. "Could you tell me where the Great Temple lies?"

A young woman – wearing a dark blue flight-suit with a yellow stripe running down the sleeves, which totally contrasted the dark colour, but in a very fashionable manner – turned towards him. Her dark brown hair rested beautifully on her shoulders, curling slightly upwards as they touched her shoulders; her light blue eyes seemed full of life. On her face was the most charming smile he had ever seen on a girl. _She sure has some very white teeth._

"Looking for the Great Temple? You're new here, then, right?" the young woman said. "It's always nice to see that people still take up the Jedi way."

"It's just outside on the left. A very big temple. Can't miss it," a male human said humorously. His appearance seemed to be older than the girl was. He was a tall, well-built man with blond hair and a beard, which was not thick – it covered the jaw and joined with the hair by the ears. His eyes were dark blue and matched his hair quite nicely. Jahita guessed that the man was in his late twenties. He was wearing a light brown jacket with many pockets all over, which told him that this fellow was probably accustomed to repairs and maintenance of spaceships. He wore a red blouse underneath the jacket, black trousers and some leathery army-boots of an unknown origin, and, of course, a lightsabre. Even though his clothes stated that he was not too bothered about today's fashion, it actually looked quite all right – to be specific, he looked like a practical chap. He clearly contrasted the girl.

Another human male stood there also. He was black haired and had a slender face with no facial hair, except for the eyebrows. He wore Jedi robes – as did the Bith, whose gender Jahita could only guess, since he lacked knowledge about that particular race.

At first Jahita just smiled back, but then remembered his manners. "Thanks. I'm Jahita Krass, by the way. From Coruscant. Pleased to meet you," he said and extended his hand.

"Ehm, pleased to meet you, too," the young woman said, shaking his hand briefly. "I'm Shiala Meno, Corellia."

The blond haired and bearded man interrupted by stepping forward and squeezing Jahita's hand a little too hard. "Vrilas K'tor, Krass."

The black haired man only nodded once, while introducing himself, "Tarrik Wend."

The Bith, on the other hand, politely extended his hand and shook Jahita's. "Eyoul Gaad. Pleased to meet you, too." The Bith's voice suggested that it was a male.

For a moment they only stood there, saying nothing. An uncomfortable silence hovered in the air.

"I see that you're not a regular _I-know-it-all_ guy from Coruscant," Shiala said and ended the embarrassing silence.

"No, no, I'm a reading-type of chap," Jahita replied, happy to have something to talk about.

"Was it you then that came with that last ship, which landed quite badly?" Vrilas K'tor asked.

Jahita felt the urge to say that it was not he who had flown the small spaceship, but since he had read something about Jedi sensing lies, he chose to tell the truth. "Aye, 'twas me, all right. I hate those _very complicated things_."

"What? The spaceships?" K'tor said confused.

"Aye, the _very complicated things_," he said again. "They give me nothing but probs."

"Probs, eh?" K'tor said humorously. "Well, gotta love them anyway. They're the ones that get you around."

"Aye, that's true, but I don't like them anyway."

The others grinned in return. "Hmm, honest too," Eyoul Gaad added. "It's good to know that at least some are of the better stock."

"What do you mean?" Jahita asked a little puzzled.

He was interrupted by Tarrik. "Hey, just because some folks don't like what Kyp's doing, doesn't mean that he's bad. He just has a different view of the Force – a view that's more up-to-date."

"It's too aggressive," Eyoul replied. "Aggression leads to the Dark Side."

"Er, I'll just leave now," Jahita said to Shiala and K'tor. "Thanks for the help." He smiled.

"No _prob_, Krass" Vrilas replied with a smirk.

"A pleasure," Shiala Meno said. "I hope your training will be fruitful." She returned his smile.

He nodded once and left them to their discussion.

* * *

Jahita marvelled at the wonders of the Jedi Academy - especially after a little trip to the top of one of the centuries old buildings. The view was breath taking. _It sure beats the skyscrapers of Coruscant_. Though Jahita was from the urban planet, he did not like it much there. What he really loved was mountains. They were not man-made, but of nature itself. Beautiful and majestic in all their modesty. The only thing he missed back home was the sometimes enormous clouds that would cover the urban planet, or at least some part of it. However, knowing that these buildings were ancient and the fact that they had an excellent view of the forest that encircled the temples was actually very nice. 

At the moment he was on top of the Great Temple. It had proven quite a problem getting there, but he managed to find his way. _I bet a lot of students spend a great deal of time sitting up here._ He felt great being up here. A great uplifting sense of joy almost made him forget that the buildings have a boundary.

"Hey there! Watch your step!" someone shouted. Jahita felt something pulling him, but it was no hand.

Jahita turned about and found himself facing Shiala Meno and Tarrik Wend. He stood a few seconds looking at them and then looked at the edge. He turned his eyes towards them again. "Thanks. I hate flying," he said with a big smile.

It was clear that the two Jedi did not understand the last remark. "That's all you have to say? You nearly fell down," Tarrik said slightly puzzled.

"Hey, at least it wasn't, AAAAAAAAHHHHHH!" Jahita grinned. "No, really, thanks for the save."

Shiala giggled in return, but stopped as she noticed Tarrik's eyes. However, they were all distracted as a shuttle roared above them and started its landing near the Great Temple. It made a lot of noise as if the pilot wanted all to know that he was landing. The temporary trio watched it land safely, while a group of students hurried over to it.

Though they were high above the landing site, Shiala recognised the pilot who came out of the spacecraft. "It's Kyp Durron! Come on, Tarrik!" Shiala said and glanced at Jahita, "Hey, Krass! You gotta meet this guy!"

Jahita recognised the name and it seemed that a shadow suddenly went over his face. But neither Shiala nor Tarrik noticed it, as they were busy running towards the stairs and on to the turbolift.

"Come on, Krass! Hurry up!" Shiala shouted.

Jahita decided to come along, turning about and ran to the stairs. They made their way to the turbolift and began their descent.

* * *

It was then Shiala noticed that Krass's mood had changed. _What could be the matter?_ she thought.

* * *

It did not take long before the three of them stood outside and watched Kyp Durron being greeted by many of the students. Word had reached Yavin 4 that Kyp's apprentice – Miko Reglia – had died. He had taken two enemies with him as he had jumped into the icy waters of Helska, thus sacrificing himself in order to help Jacen Solo and an ExGal scientist – called Danni Quee – escape from the new and mysterious enemy that called itself the _Yuuzhan Vong_. 

Shiala and Tarrik ran into the crowd to greet Kyp, but Jahita hid himself by the entrance of the temple, and after while he decided to go to his new room. _Of all the places in the galaxy, he pops up here_. Jahita turned about and quickly ran down the corridors.

* * *

He sat down on his bed, found the small gadget that was able to play some of his favourite music – pre-Imperial classical concerts. They had always had a relaxing effect on him, especially when he needed solitude for a moment. He sighed comfortably and looked out from the small window. All the trees and plants were very beautiful and most importantly, they were real. Not some bad imitations or holographs placed in some dusty museum. He felt that this moment was perfect to contemplate on the Force, or at least the things he had learned through studying what he could find regarding this mysterious power. _Hmm, since the Force is strengthen by life then the Force should be very close here with all these plants and trees around. There sure has to be many animals, too_. He wondered for a moment how it could be possible to actually come in contact with this mysterious Force that the Jedi revered so much. He also had in mind what bad effects it could have, too, bearing in mind the Emperor, who had died some time before he was even born. _That's probably what the Jedi call the Dark Side_, he thought, relaxing to the sound of the instruments that played. 

His thoughts were interrupted as Shiala came to his room. "There you are. Come, Master Skywalker wants to address us all. We are to go to the Grand Audience Chamber in the Great Temple. Come, Tarrik and I'll show you where it is."

Jahita sighed and rose, turning off the music and tried to catch up with her and Tarrik, who had been waiting outside.

They arrived at the Great Temple and quickly made their way to the Grand Audience Chamber. Jahita stood in awe and tried to catch as many details of the Chamber's interior wonders. _All made out of rock. Awesome!_ His fascination was then interrupted as a turbolift arrived and the doors opened. Master Skywalker entered the Chamber and a fellow in green robes followed him.

Shiala politely leaned over to him and whispered, "That's Corran Horn. He's Corellian and descendant of a great Jedi family."

"Oookay," Jahita whispered back. He had heard of the bloke, who had had something to do with the famous Rogue Squadron.

The crowd stood in silence and awaited the Jedi Master's words. Luke stood for a moment and looked at the assembly of Jedi. Jahita then suddenly noticed how the Jedi had split into two groups. He quietly whispered in Shiala's direction, "What's going on?" But Shiala did not have time to give him an answer, because Luke had started to speak.

"I am glad to see you all here. Your bright, shining faces are lit with the Force. You all work hard, and someday, you young Jedi will stand here with us as Jedi Knights. I look forward to that day, and I know you do, too."

"We can be out fighting the bad guys," someone young replied. Jahita did not see who made that comment, but then again did not quite understand what was going on, but what he did notice was that many were smiling at that comment, as was Luke.

"Yes, that will be it. However, for now, I would ask Tionne to take you away to continue your studies. There are things I need to discuss with the others that you need not know about at the moment. Thank you for greeting all of us, and may the Force be with you," Luke said. All the children began to leave the chamber and some of the older children sought to keep order among them all. The adult – or near adulthood – remained. Jahita, however, did not know where to go, but then decided to stay near the entrance. Shiala did not notice him going – nor did the others.

As he was standing in the entrance – semi-hiding – he could hear some of the discussions that were between the Jedi, who were talking in the Chamber. He did not get much of it, save something about the aliens called Yuuzhan Vong. At one point it seemed that a heated conversation was about to start between Jacen Solo – Master Skywalker's nephew – and Kyp Durron, but Luke managed to stop it in getting hotter and started to speak peacefully to the Jedi. Jahita tried to catch what Luke was saying, but only managed to hear anything when all went silent and Luke's voice echoed through the Grand Audience Chamber, "Over the next week or so I will give you assignments. I will be sending you into dangers I cannot even guess at knowing. I hope all of you will return unhurt, but I know that will not happen. While the outside world may be divided about us, we cannot afford to be divided against ourselves. If we do not stand together, we will be torn apart, and with us will fall our galaxy."

Jahita's mouth dropped. _The galaxy will fall! What the heck is going on here!_ He had heard some vague rumours about these strange aliens that had been sighted in the Outer Rim, not so far from Imperial Space. Part from the destruction of Sernpidal and some fighting at Helska, he did not know much. The Jedi Master's words, however, seemed to tell him that things were about to get quite heated in the New Republic.

It was then he noticed that some were looking the way he was standing, and he quickly turned away, running towards the nearest turbolift and out of the Great Temple. He did not stop until he had arrived in his room. There he stayed for a while.

Some fifteen minutes later someone knocked on his door, and he carefully opened it. Outside stood a tall man with blond hair and looking somewhat muscular.

He eyed Jahita and finally asked, "Jahita Krass, right?"

"Aye," Jahita replied a little nervously.

"Pleased to meet you, Krass," the man said and extended his hand. "I'm Kam Solusar. Jedi Master by rank, but otherwise an administrator." He smiled a little.

"Pleased to meet you, too, Master Solusar," Jahita said and extended his hand, as well.

"I'm here to take you to your first lesson. You'll be in a group with some novices, but who have received some training already, but I think you'll come along nicely."

"Grand," Jahita replied.

"Er, that's now, Krass," Kam chuckled.

"Oh, sorry, Master Solusar," Jahita said frantically. "Please, show the way."

"Excellent, just follow me," Kam said and added as they were walking down the corridor, "By the way, I was asked by Master Skywalker to tell you that he'd appreciate if you kept everything you heard in the Grand Audience Chamber for yourself for the time being. Better not alarm the other students just yet, okay?"

Jahita felt sure that his size had shrunk as Kam looked at him. "Er, I – I just didn't know…where I was supposed to go…and – and I didn't hear that much. You know, er, of what he was talking about."

Kam laughed, apparently finding it amusing how Jahita was stuttering. "Well, whatever you heard, just keep it to yourself, okay?"

"Sure, no prob," Jahita quickly said and nodded sincerely.

* * *

It was quite warm outside, yet bearable, but almost no one was walking around in what could perhaps be called a plaza. Many were having lessons with Tionne, Kam Solusar's wife. She was an administrator, too, at the Academy and an official Jedi historian. 

On their walk over to the Great Temple, Kam and Jahita met some of the Jedi that had been talking to Master Skywalker. It was none other than Kyp Durron and some of his supporters. Apparently, some of them hoped to become Kyp's new apprentice. That much Jahita had learned. He did not return Kyp's smile.

"Greetings, Master Solusar" Kyp said.

"Kyp," Kam replied.

Kyp Durron then turned towards Jahita. "Hi there. I'm Kyp Durron, Jedi Master. What's your name?"

Jahita did not even reply, but only looked at him. The coldness in his eyes seemed to have its effect on Kyp and the others. Kam did not notice this, though.

"You haven't heard of me?"

"I have heard of you, all right," Jahita finally replied. His face remained as cold as the ice planet of Hoth itself.

Kyp chuckled nervously. "Say, you like flying? If you do, you might want to join our little group of justice-fighters after you've completed your basic training."

"I'd rather have that you didn't involve the younger students in this, Kyp," Kam said a bit sternly.

"Hey, he can answer for himself, can't he?" Kyp replied, but did not bother to look on the Jedi Master. "What do you say?" Kyp's smile faded away by Jahita's silence and still frozen-and-careless-looking face. "Are you all right?" he asked.

"What does it look like!" Jahita said. His voice grew in volume.

Kyp did not know if he had said anything that had offended Jahita, but he sensed through the Force an anger growing inside Jahita, which was turned towards him. The cause, though, was unknown.

"Hey, I'm sorry if I said something wrong…"

Jahita interrupted him. "Said! _Said_! What about '_done_'!" His eyes almost glowed with anger.

"Easy there now," Kam said and tried to cool him down. "What's the matter?"

"Leave me alone," Jahita said in a very low tune and turned away from the group.

"What have I done?" Kyp demanded.

Jahita stopped his walk and turned slowly towards him. He looked grim in his face and uttered a single word, "Carida."

Kyp went silent. He surely had not forgotten the time when he had blown the planet Carida and its inhabitants into space dust. The guilt hung heavily upon him. He walked with fast paces towards Jahita, who had started to walk away again. "Hey, Jahita," Kyp said and put his hand on Jahita's shoulder.

"Kyp, I think –" Kam started, but never got to finish his sentence.

As soon as Kyp's hand touched his shoulder, Jahita gave an angry outcry. A very bright light, which was followed by a very loud thunder, sent the group flying a couple of metres backwards. Jahita stood alone and watched the Jedi, who had fallen to the ground. They all had been blinded and shocked by the sudden bright light. The sort period of flying had also shaken them quite. Kyp – who had been right behind Jahita – had first received the impact of the sudden wall of sound. He was lying unconscious on the ground. Kam, however, was already starting to get back up on his feet, although he appeared a little groggy.

Jahita leaked with sweat and felt how his consciousness slowly began to fade. He struggled to run, but barely managed to keep a straight pace. As he entered the Great Temple, he fell to his knees. His eyes were failing him and he suddenly could not feel if he was flying or if he still was on the ground. He tried to crawl, but his strength was slipping away very fast. Suddenly darkness engulfed him.

* * *

"Jahita. Jahita, can you hear me?" a voice said in the blur. 

Jahita struggled to focus. He felt exhausted and totally worn out. Above him stood Master Solusar and Shiala, if he was not mistaking. Behind them stood two young Jedi, whom he believed to be Jacen and Anakin Solo, if he remembered correctly the footage on the HoloNet. "What? Where am I?" he almost stuttered.

"You're in the Great Temple. What did you do?" Shiala asked.

"Do? I don't know?" Jahita felt so confused. He was bathed in sweat. He could remember talking to Kyp about something. _Carida_. He felt how his eyes began pouring water. "Carida," he said.

Kam immediately responded to this name. "Did you know anyone there, Krass?"

Jahita felt more tears running down his cheeks. "My mother's sister…" His voice drowned.

Kam nodded solemnly. "That's what I thought," he said quietly. After a short moment of silence he continued, "What were your thoughts, while you spoke with Kyp Durron?"

Jahita felt his stomach twist when he heard Kyp's name. He remembered his beloved aunt, who had saved him during the Imperial Inner Circle's attack on Coruscant shortly after Grand Admiral Thrawn had died. Had it not been for her – she, who he considered a mother – he would not have been alive today.

Though Jahita said nothing, Kam sensed his thoughts and put his hand on Jahita's forehead. Jahita could feel the Jedi Master's approach into his mind, but put no barrier in his way. He allowed Kam to see his pain, since he did not feel like talking.

Kam saw in the Force an image of a woman carrying Jahita, who was only a child. Fires were all around them, but the woman managed to make her way to a shuttle and take off to the air. The shuttle carried them to a safe place in the war-torn Coruscant. The image faded and another erupted. Jahita and his family crying, they had received the news of Carida's destruction. Jahita's aunt had died. Another image flashed before him, it was Kyp Durron who was being greeted by students. Kam felt the anger Jahita had felt when he first met Kyp. He opened his eyes and removed his hand.

He sighed slightly. "I've seen enough. Rest now, Jahita." He placed again his hand on Jahita's forehead and used the Force to let peace flow into the young man's mind, and before long Jahita was fast asleep. Kam turned towards Tarrik Wend and Eyoul Gaad, who had been standing at a distance observing, and asked them to carry Jahita to his room. They quickly acknowledged.

* * *

As they carried Jahita off to his room, Kam, Jacen and his younger brother, Anakin Solo, were joined by Luke Skywalker. He had heard of the incident and had therefore come. 

"Kam, what happened?" Luke asked.

"To tell you the truth, I don't really know," Kam answered. He then told Luke what had happened and how Jahita had suddenly drawn upon the Force to create some sort of a sound or light wall, which knocked almost everyone to the ground.

"When I finally got back to my senses, I found him lying here unconscious," Kam said. "I tried to ask him what had happened, but he didn't seem to know himself."

"Disturbing," Luke said thoughtful. "Did he reveal anything to you?"

"Well, sort of. I couldn't get much of what he tried to say except it had something to do with Carida and some aunt of his, so I decided entering his mind to catch some images. He didn't block me, so I figure that he really wanted me to know." He paused a moment, before saying, "His aunt was on Carida the day Kyp Durron destroyed the system."

"No wonder he was upset," Anakin said after some seconds of silence, "but what did he do to Kyp and the others? They were blind for two minutes or so."

"Yeah, there was even a great thunder, which could be heard all around the area," Jacen added.

"I was, too, you know, but it passed away a little quicker than that. As for what it was – well, who knows?" Kam said and looked at Luke. "Do you?"

The worried expression on Luke's face revealed it all. "No, Kam, I don't know. And as far as I know, Krass has never been instructed in the ways of the Force and I would reckon that only a trained Jedi could do such a thing."

"It couldn't have been Exar Kun again – that's for sure," a voice added.

"That's true, Corran," Luke said as he smiled to the Corellian Jedi, who stood in the doorway. He surely had not forgotten the meeting with the spirit of the long dead Sith lord. It had been a dangerous time then, as it was now with the approaching of the virtually unknown enemy, called the Yuuzhan Vong.

"His sudden ability to call on the Force has to be some sort of gift or inner strength," Luke continued. "But I've never had students, who made such a display of the Force in such a short time," he said with a half smile. "Except for Kyp Durron that is, but he did undergo training before he could master the Force." He paused for a moment and looked over to the Corellian. "It must be some sort of ability that we've never encountered before."

"Well, all Jedi have different strengths and qualities, but this guy seems not to have control of it at all," Corran said with a hint of concern.

"Well, you and the other Masters should be able to handle this. Right, Uncle Luke?" Anakin said encouraging.

"That I'm sure of, Anakin." Luke walked into the Great Temple, followed by the others.

"I sure would feel more comfortable if I knew that he wouldn't go berserk through the galaxy with that ability of his – whatever it is." Corran meant every word. He did not like the fact that Jedi – such as Kyp's former squadron – had caused alarm amongst the senators of the New Republic; even though it seemed that, some of them had bargains with the pirates, who Kyp's squadron and other Jedi had attacked. "In some way, though, I'm glad that he won't join Kyp and the other enthusiastic young Jedi, who want to execute law by means of aggression."

Luke did not give a hint of comfort from that comment. "Unfortunately, though, there's the possibility that Jahita would want to revenge his aunt's death on Carida – and the thought of Jedi killing Jedi in lust for revenge is not what I had in mind for the purpose of this Academy."

Tionne suddenly entered the room where they were standing. "I just heard of the incident. Are they all right?"

"Yes, they were not in danger, but only blinded and shocked for a moment," Kam assured her.

Luke sat down on a rock bench and seemed to be in deep thoughts, while Kam answered Tionne's questions. Needless to say, she was puzzled, but more pressing affairs concerned Luke. He and Jacen were to travel to Belkadan to examine the planet closer, along with the ExGal compound situated there. Jacen's twin-sister, Jaina Solo, had left Yavin 4 along with Danni Quee; the two women would meet with Luke's sister Leia Organa Solo – the mother of Jacen, Jaina and Anakin – on Coruscant, who was acting as an ambassador of Dubrillion. She was to report on the Yuuzhan Vong attacks on Belkadan and Dubrillion. Then after this, the three women were going back to Dubrillion after a stop at Agamar, where Leia would give the same report. Mara Jade Skywalker and Anakin would travel to Dantooine, where they hoped that Mara would recover her strength. She had been battling a mysterious disease for quite some time now. Anakin was supposed to help his aunt if she needed it. Corran Horn and Ganner Rhysode were going to Bimmiel to see if an expedition from the University of Agamar were still alive.

_Plenty of work to be done_, Luke thought.

"What should we do about him?" Kam interrupted his thoughts.

"About Krass?" Luke inquired.

"Yeah."

Luke pondered for a moment, opening himself to whatever the Force might tell or indicate to him – usually he could only hint what it was telling him, but now it seemed unclear. "I'm not sure," he finally said. "I don't think we should isolate him, but I'd advise you to keep a good eye on him. This may be a seed of anger, which could mean trouble later on." He paused as he closed his eyes for a second. "Time will tell, Kam. Time will tell."

* * *

Shiala Meno walked quietly down the corridor to Jahita's room, carrying some water. He had been sound asleep for three hours. She carefully opened the door and looked inside. Jahita was awake now. 

"Who's there?" he asked and tried to wipe the sleep from his eyes.

"It's Shiala Meno. May I come in?" She popped her head inside. "I brought you something to drink, if you like."

"Sure thing. My throat is as dry as a senator's speech."

That joke Shiala understood, she grinned. Jahita seemed to feel better by her laughter and accepted the cup of water. He emptied the whole cup in one big gulp.

"Hey, easy now, Krass. You'll just get a stomach-ache, besides we got plenty more where that came from."

"Sorry, but as I said, I'm very thirsty. I must have at least sweated a gallon or so," he said cheerful, but then noticed the smell. "Oops, must have been more than a gallon."

Shiala only smiled. "It's good to see that you're back on top again. Master Solusar said that if you felt up to it, you can still have your first lesson. But have some more water first. A meal has been prepared for you, if you feel hungry."

"Thanks a lot, but I think I'll have a shower before I go anywhere." He rose. "Could you tell Master Solusar that I'll be right over as fast as I can after my shower and meal?" Jahita said.

"Sure thing, Krass. I'll go right away." She went out the door, but halted as Jahita called her back. "What is it?" she asked.

Jahita smiled carefully. "Where exactly am I supposed to go?"

* * *

Jahita walked up to chamber, where the lessons were to be had. He felt well. It was good to be warm and clean again. He carefully knocked on the door, which opened itself a second later. It revealed a quite large room with about five to six 'windows' if one could call it that, bearing in mind that they had no glass in them – the windows reminded him of the one he had in his room, only that they were somewhat larger. The light shining through these windows was actually beautiful, and gave a sense of tranquillity in the room. And the vines were once again present, twirling up around the windows and through them. Despite the humid air outside, it did not seem quite the same inside – much to Jahita's joy. 

"Come in, Jahita Krass. It's good to see that you're back on your feet again." Kam Solusar sat in the middle of the room with his legs crossed, surrounded by some other students of various species, races and genders. Some he had seen before in either the streets on Coruscant or in the HoloNet, but there were some that he had never seen before. Their age was not so easy to tell, although he felt certain that some of them were his age.

He remembered what he was doing and finally replied, "Thanks, Master Solusar. It sure was nice to get a shower and something to eat." Jahita smiled and risked a little wave with his hand to the others in the room. "Hello there," he said, hiding whatever insecurity might be within him. They politely greeted him back.

"Please, sit down," Kam made a gesture with his hand where Jahita should sit.

"Aye, Master." Jahita sat down and likewise crossed his legs. He suddenly felt a peace, which filled him and the room. He felt pretty sure that the Jedi Master emanated with the Force and that the other students did likewise.

"Okay, I'll start from where I left off, class," Kam said, his voice resonating in room. "Peace is of the Light side. Peace helps us focus and peace is the Force. Hence, the Force is peace and we can be filled with it. The Force is everywhere – surrounding and penetrating us, as well as binding us together. The great Jedi Master Yoda, who instructed Luke Skywalker, said that we are luminous beings and the Force is our ally, a very powerful ally. But this doesn't mean that we should be aggressors. Nor should we view the Force as a tool, for it is living. Life creates it and makes it grow. The Force is within you as it is within me." He paused a moment and eyed the students in turn.

A gush of wind entered the room, making everyone's' hair a bit ruffled – or at least those that had either hair or fur or feathers. Some smiled or giggled, while Jahita only looked around himself, wondering what was so funny. Then he pondered on the possibility that the Jedi Master had had something to do with it.

Kam continued, "In time you will create a bond with it and hopefully you will work out a close relationship with it, which will allow it to aid you in your struggles, which will come on your path of becoming a Jedi Knight. The path isn't easy, but is rewarding in the end. Peace and justice should be your goal and not ambitions of conquest or exploiting others, who seem inferior in your eyes. No one is inferior. All are equal in the Force for we are all living beings, no matter race or gender."

The students nodded, and Jahita began to feel the wisdom in Master Solusar's words. He felt how his spirit drank every word, absorbing them. In some inexplicable way the wonders of the Force began to unravel. It was as if a light had been lit within him – the light of life – the Force itself in all its glory. He felt sure that he was slowly beginning to connect with it in some mystic way – or that's how he felt, at least, since he had never known that much about the Force. The students kept their silence, knowing that they should honour their tutor and obey him. Where this submission came from, Jahita knew not, but he knew that he welcomed it by his own free will.

"You will face ordeals and tests throughout your life, but they will strengthen you," Kam continued. "Though you will die one day, it won't make you a failure. Only if you were to fall to the Dark Side and then die would you have failed, unless you would be redeemed as Master Skywalker has been. The love of his sister threw away the darkness that rested upon his soul and freed him from the Emperor's power." Kam paused. "I trust you have heard this?" he asked.

Many of the students nodded or voiced their knowledge of this – including Jahita; it paid off being interested in both history and Jedi even.

"But you shouldn't worry too much about the Dark Side for now. Now you should focus on your training. You are to learn how to feel the Force inside you and learn how to use it. But you must always remember this: the Force is not a tool, but your ally. You will have learned nothing if you think that the Force is the solution to every problem. That isn't how things work here in life. It may guide you in days of trouble, but you must also trust yourselves. You must also remember that every action and every decision you make can have a consequence or impact on another being, and even for the entire galaxy. Hopefully, it won't be dire consequences if such a decision should occur." His face seemed sombre, but it then changed to an encouraging smile.

"But don't be afraid of making mistakes, they help us mature and grow in wisdom and in the knowledge of the Force. To avoid making mistakes may be good, but don't ever think of yourselves as flawless. Even Master Skywalker makes mistakes and learns from them. A Jedi's training never ends. At least not until he becomes one with the Force." He looked sincerely at Jahita. "Do you understand this, Krass?"

Jahita nodded with all sincerity. "Aye, Master Solusar," he said, but added, "However, it worries me a bit. I feel a little afraid of what I might encounter on this path."

"Push aside your fear for fear can lead to anger and anger is of the Dark Side." Kam looked at the other students as he continued, "A Jedi knows no fear. Let the Force guide you. It is your ally as well as your comforter. It is always there. Everywhere."

"But, Master Solusar, how will we know this?" a student asked.

"Through the peace you find in the Force – for the Force is peace. You will have a clear mind when you're at ease." He thought for a second. "Let's try it," he suddenly said, "Everyone stand up, please." They all rose. He pointed at several objects that lay behind him. "Could you lift the cup without taking hold of it?" he asked them.

"Aye," Jahita answered ahead of the others. "If we're trained in doing so. I've heard of how Jedi lift things and stuff."

"Ah, but there are some Jedi that can't use telekinesis. Corran Horn, for example, can't lift anything, but he has other gifts that are just as good. I know that all of you here have already tried this, but you haven't, Krass." Kam waved him forward. "Let's find out if you can."

Jahita's eyes almost glared at the Jedi Master. "But how do I begin?"

Kam smiled. "First close your eyes and let go of everything. Don't think about anything, except for the cup you see here," he said and pointed at the particular cup. "Clear your mind, just relax and open yourself to the Force and let peace fill your mind."

"Oookay," Jahita said and closed his eyes. He let all thoughts fade away and took a deep breath. He exhaled slowly and felt how relaxed he had become. He could feel a slight tingling on his skin and in his interior. To him it felt like something began to fill him up almost as if someone was pouring water into a bottle. Peace came in great abundance. It was as if his entire body was being filled with the Force and that it would virtually flow out of his mouth, nose and ears.

This prompted him to open his eyes again. "Whoa," he whispered. "Did you feel that, too?"

Some of the students grinned, as did Master Solusar.

"That's a good sign, Krass. But you have to concentrate. Try again."

Jahita again closed his eyes, and did the same procedure as before. Once again came the tingling and the sensation of being filled by something.

"Now _feel_ the cup on the table," Kam advised. "Don't think of anything else. _Feel_ it. Imagine it levitating. Imagine taking hold of it with an invisible hand."

Though Jahita's eyes were closed, he noticed that the room seemed to become visible around him, but in some diminished form. At the same time, it was as if the room – or what he believed to be the room – was filled with a cloud or fog that seemed to flow and shine with light. The fog seemed to be alive. It penetrated everything with ease, yet it seemed as if it was binding everything together. He thought he could see Master Solusar moving, but did not hear him move until a couple of seconds afterwards. He then reassumed his concentration on the cup. It felt as if he did actually take hold of it. _How strange. I can feel it as I can feel my hand or leg._ In his mind's eye, he lifted up the cup. He extended his off hand and slowly put the cup into it. He opened his eyes and saw that he was actually holding it in his hand.

"Wow! That was awesome!" Jahita said and almost jumped up by sheer joy.

The students applauded a little, and Master Solusar looked glad at him.

"Very good, Krass. Few students have managed to levitate anything at the beginning of their training."

"I was just lucky, I guess," Jahita said and reassumed his usual modesty.

"There is no luck; only the Force," Kam said and chuckled, as did some of the students. "Anyway," he said and reassumed his tutor look, "modesty is a good thing, which prevents us of becoming proud and arrogant, but we should allow ourselves to receive encouragement from others."

"I understand, Master." Jahita nodded. It was not in his nature becoming proud, but remembering the words of Master Solusar still made him uneasy. _I must never become arrogant._

"Students, there is one thing you must know at all times," Kam said and paused and crossed his arms below his chest.

"Yes, Master?" some students asked in almost unison.

"You must always know who you are."

Jahita wondered what the Jedi Master was talking about, but slowly understanding began to grow.

"Who are you, Jahita Krass?" Kam asked and looked directly at him, as though he could sense his thoughts.

Jahita smiled. "I'm a luminous being, and a Jedi, Master Solusar."


	3. Chapter Two: Training Days

**Chapter Two**

**_Training Days_**

On top of one of the ancient Massassi temples, which were built centuries ago by the servants – or more correctly, the slaves – of the Sith magician Naga Sadow, sat now a Jedi adept meditating. It was Jahita Krass. In front of him sat Jedi Knight Eyoul Gaad, the Bith. Eyoul had been so kind as to help Jahita with his training. Perhaps it was because he feared that Jahita might _fall_ into Kyp Durron's grasp, as he would put it. However, Jahita was only glad that someone took the time to even speak with him, much less walk with him and show him around the Academy, since he was too insecure to even ask himself. It had always been like this – he was always too closed up within himself to actually reach out to other people and seek their company. But that was just how he was. He found comfort in his studying of history and daydreaming.

This he hoped would change. Not his interest for history, though, but the thing about being alone, shut off by sheer shyness. Eyoul had helped him quite a deal by bothering to speak and even meditate with him, which the other students seemed not to be fond of doing, for some reason. Truth be told, it was rather Jahita's own fault, though he might not admit it. Yet he was glad. He liked the Bith for his calm and mature behaviour. Eyoul did not ask tons of questions about where Jahita was from, what he planned on doing if he ever became a Jedi, and all of the other sorts of nonsense Jahita's classmates would bombard him with.

At this particular moment, both Jedi were in deep contact with the Force and spoke to each other through it. Jahita had advanced quite fast, but as Master Solusar had so rightfully told him, Jahita was trying to hold himself back somehow. However, the Jedi Master had also noted that he was glad that Jahita's joy for the Force. And Jahita had to admit that through it, he had opened his eyes to the life that surrounded him. Animals, plants and even bacteria amazed the young Jedi.

Through the days of learning about the Force, it had now come to a point where he could almost make out the small microscopic beings, which could be found on every planet or moon with a capability of sustaining life. The spark of life shone brightly from the bacteria and it filled his Force vision with light. Jahita wondered what would have happened if he had seen this light with his own eyes. He figured that he would probably go blind. However, it was not only beings that crawled, walked, swam or flew that he could sense life emanating from. Even the trees of the jungle also gleamed with the light of life. When he really concentrated he could see that this light, which appeared like a shining fog or smoke in his mind's eye, it seemed to be everywhere, binding, penetrating and surrounding all that was living and not.

Eyoul noticed the smile on the student's face. "What do you see, Jahita?" the Bith asked.

"The wonders of the Force, Eyoul, and the magnificence of life."

Eyoul nodded. "The Force is indeed magnificent. Do you now understand why it is a powerful ally?" He rose.

"Aye, Eyoul," Jahita said and likewise rose, but kept his eyes closed. "I'm so glad for these new experiences. It's the best thing that has ever happened to me." He slowly opened his eyes. "I dare not imagine the possibility of me being dead had it not been for my aunt Sari."

"So that was her name? Sari?" Eyoul asked.

Jahita slightly bowed his head. "Aye, her full name was Sari Telano Obyeni. She was the most loving and caring aunt one could dream of. My parents were both killed in the Imperial Inner Circle's assault on Coruscant, but she saved me and took care of me afterwards. After she secretly travelled to Carida to rejoin with her husband, who was working as a spy for the New Republic, I lived with my mother's parents. Then…" He halted in his speech. His eyes began to shine somewhat. Tears wanted to flow, but Jahita restrained them.

"I know, Jahita, you don't need to talk about it." Eyoul placed a hand on Jahita's shoulder.

"I just wish that I could have returned the favour and saved her, Eyoul. After all had it not been for her, I would never have been initiated to the Force."

"Then you must repay her in becoming a Jedi Knight and thereby honour her memory," Eyoul said solemnly.

The words of the Bith eased the pain. Jahita smiled. "That I'll do, friend. And I'll make her proud."

"I'm sure you will, Jahita," the Bith said full of confidence. He returned Jahita's smile in his own peculiar way and turned towards the gas-giant that stood in all its majesty above them His countenance turned thoughtful for a moment. Then he asked, "What would your answer be, if Master Solusar asked you to build a lightsabre now, Jahita?"

Jahita's body made a motion, which indicated that he was surprised. He stood silent a moment. The idea of building something mechanical – when he had trouble managing mechanical things – was really weird. _Why should Master Solusar even ask me to perform such a difficult task? I've hardly been here a month_…

Jahita gave a hint of smile and bowed his head. "I would respectfully decline."

Eyoul turned about to face the young student. "How come, Jahita?"

"Well, if asked, I would tell him that since I've only been here for a couple of weeks, and though I've learned so many valuable things, my training days have only just begun. My knowledge and understanding of the Force is in the stage of a beginner."

Jahita looked the Bith in the eye, having a serious look on his face. "Besides, having a lightsabre is a great responsibility. When I wield a lightsabre, I have death in my hand and I could strike anyone down with the weapon, but that isn't the way of the Jedi. I know that my knowledge in Force will enhance once I fully understand this weapon and the responsibility that follows with it, but I wouldn't feel secure enough having that burden on my shoulders yet. I fear that I would fail in understanding what would be expected of me if he'd even ask me to make one now."

Eyoul stood for a moment and looked at Jahita. Another of his peculiar smiles appeared on his face. "If you only knew how many failed in that test, Jahita. I did," he said and grinned. "Your wisdom in the Force has surely grown."

"I'm not so sure I passed it, Eyoul, for speaking frankly I fear that weapon." He nervously flexed his fingers and continued, "Both because of the burden that follows and the fact that it's mechanical. I'm not the great repairer or builder of such things. In fact I almost loathe such devices."

"Only because you can't control them, Jahita," Eyoul said, his words filled with a Knight's authority, but gentle. "But you can learn such things if you only allow yourself to."

"I understand," Jahita said with his head still bowed down, not in shame, but in respect.

"I trust you will, Jahita. Master Solusar told me that you're a good pupil. I'm glad that I have the privilege of getting to know you."

Jahita lifted his head and gave a big smile. "And I'm glad that I have you to talk to, Eyoul. It can get a little lonely around here."

"But remember what we are told about fear, Jahita. Remember that a Jedi knows no fear. There is no emotion; there is peace."

Jahita had an odd expression on his face. "Er, I still haven't exactly figured that one out yet, Eyoul. How can there be no emotion? I mean, when I'm glad, I have the emotion of gladness. How could there be no emotion when I can feel it?"

Eyoul chuckled a little. "Ah, so you're learning the old Jedi Code now." He let his grinning die out. "Well, to speak frankly, Jahita, I can't say that I understand it fully, but to this, I would say that we should rather discard emotions such as anger, hate and fear. I'm sure that the Code doesn't mind you being glad or filled with joy. There's just the chance that when friends die and we become sad and filled with sorrow, it could happen that the sorrow is followed by fear and anger. This can make us hate something or someone. And hate is not the Jedi way – it is the path of the Dark Side."

"So me being glad, doesn't make me less Jedi, right?" Jahita asked with a hint of relief.

"Of course not, Jahita," Eyoul answered and laughed. "After all, we are only _human_," he said and laughed even more, and Jahita joined him.

After a moment of laughing, Jahita gave a sigh of relief. "Ffib, Eyoul, for a Bith you sure know how to joke." His laughter slowly died down. "Then again, I don't know any Biths aside from you, mate."

The two of them grinned a little more.

Eyoul reassumed his concentrated look, but with a smile. "Jahita, you like history, right?"

"Sure do. Very much indeed. Well, of course it depends on the subject, but in overall, yes."

Eyoul crossed his arms. "Well, as far as I've heard, today's lesson will be held by Tionne. She is going to tell your class some of the history of the Jedi Order."

A big smile erupted on Jahita's face. "All right!"

"Well, this should certainly boost your interest in the Jedi history. Besides, Tionne loves to share the wisdom she received through the Jedi Holocron before it was destroyed."

"But didn't Master Solusar and Master Skywalker find a library on Ossus, which contained some of the Order's history?"

"Yes, they were led to a hidden library by Rayf Ysanna of the Ysanna tribe, if I remember correctly. Tionne has studied much of the findings from that library and she sure has learned plenty. You and your classmates are to meet in the Grand Audience Chamber in an hour. Make sure that you are there in time, she doesn't like uncommitted Jedi." The last remark was said with a smirk.

"I understand perfectly, Eyoul," Jahita said with a big smile. "In that case, I ought to get a shower and some fresh clothes. This meditating in the sun can be quite warm."

"As you wish," Eyoul said. "Think you feel up for it?" he asked and looked at the edge of the roof.

Jahita only smiled before he turned his back to the Bith and jumped off the roof, landing securely on a lower level. He used the Force to slow his descent so that he would not break his legs by the impact. He kept the same procedure until he had reached the ground. Once he had reached the ground, he waved to Eyoul, who still stood at the top of the ziggurat. "See you later, mate!" he shouted and ran over to the temple where his room was.

* * *

Tionne Solusar sat alone near the podium in the Grand Audience Chamber. With her, she had brought her special stringed instrument, which she played so beautifully so that all who listened were touched to the innermost part of their soul. She had 'inherited' the instrument from her grandmother after she had been executed for her knowledge and telling of ancient Jedi tales, but that was many years ago during the Emperor's New Order. Tionne sat so peacefully and meditated in Force that one would think that she was a beautiful decorated statue, which had been made in honour of beauty and music. Her fair white hair and pearl-eyes – which always seemed to shine with light – made her look like a beautiful space angel and may well have been the cause of envy among other women. Rays of light shone through the tall windows in the Chamber and almost illuminated the entire room. Green vines crawled up on the walls – regardless of gravity. Their green leaves teemed with life. Insects of various sorts were busy in collecting their meals as well as providing occasional predators with a bountiful feast. Now and then, loud screams could be heard from the stintarils – some furry animals – that were having a little fight among their nests in the Massassi trees, as well as the ear-tearing shrieks of the howlers – a kind of lizards that lived in the jungle, known for their long tongue as well, which was notably painful to feel lashing into one's legs. The exchanging of calls between some purple-furred woolamanders was heard, as well as the chilling cries of reptilian predator birds. The undergrowth, too, teemed with life. The beautiful songs of the other various sorts of birds echoed wonderfully through the dense jungle and gave Tionne a deep satisfaction of good meditation. _No wonder Master Skywalker thought this location to be ideal_, she thought in her quiet mind. 

Though her eyes were still closed, she sensed the presence of other beings, which treaded so carefully that they would not disturb her.

"I'm glad you could come, class," Tionne said with her eyelids still closed.

Some began apologising for disturbing her, but Tionne only smiled and opened her eyes. She giggled a little and waved her hand to them. "Come and sit in front of me, please."

The students acknowledged and walked over to the podium where Tionne was sitting.

"You can all call me Tionne," she said gently.

* * *

Tionne was indeed a beautiful woman. Her white hair seemed almost to rest peacefully on her head. Her bright eyes almost shone with light and her voice seemed to be as gentle as a little waterfall. She was the official Jedi historian, as well as the Academy's administrator and teller of Jedi legends and other such tales; she was also particular renowned for her ballads. Her husband Kam Solusar was also an administrator of the Academy. Jahita had become very fond of Kam as a teacher. He hoped that it would be the same with Tionne. 

"What do you feel when you're meditating?" Tionne asked while attending her instrument. When no one appeared to be answering, she randomly picked someone by pointing her finger. "You," she said without even looking. "What do you feel when meditating?"

Seeing Tionne's finger pointing directly at him, Jahita started, "I feel a great calm as if I was in some sort of heaven," he said and smiled insecurely.

Tionne looked up from her instrument and at him. "And what do you see?"

Jahita felt how the peace of the Force entered him and he closed his eyes. Through his inner sight, he could see the cloud of light, which covered all that he saw. He could as usual see the features of the Chamber and even Tionne and his fellow students. Within them, he could see a great light that shone very brightly. "I see the Force," he said with his eyelids still closed.

"What does it look like?" Tionne asked, although her way of asking indicated that she already knew.

He opened his eyes. "Like light. Like a cloud of light that binds and penetrates everything."

"And surrounds all things as well." Tionne took hold of the instrument and made herself ready to play.

"What will we be doing today, Tionne?" a student asked.

"I will sing a song for you. I've made some songs based on the stories I've learned through the Jedi Holocron, as well as other sources."

"Quite a funny way preserving history," another said.

Tionne smiled gently. "Many races in the galaxy preserve their history in this way. Some are very plain and uninteresting for others, while some tell of great deeds, which capture the attention of many. I make these songs in order to comfort and encourage my fellow Jedi. Sometimes there is much sorrow to be battled. A song helps a great deal if it hits the soft spot." The last remark she said with a grin.

"But sometimes I've received a little criticism for what I've done," Tionne continued. Her smile had faded. "Some years ago when I started my training here at the Jedi Academy I had made a song about the most ancient of the Jedi: the Jedi that fought in the Sith Wars many thousand years ago. At that time, a student had died mysteriously. His name was Gantoris and he came from a moon called Eol Sha. When Master Skywalker first met him, Gantoris asked him if he was the _dark man_, who was to show Gantoris great power and then destroy him. Needless to say, Master Skywalker became quite worried by this, but Gantoris eventually agreed to come with him. He died here. He had been burned up from his insides. We were all very sad and scared by this. Then the rumour spread about a _dark man_ who had instructed Gantoris in secrecy and in the end killed him, when he refused to obey this _dark man_. The terrible things did not end here though. After a while Kyp Durron started to act strangely."

Jahita felt his stomach twist upon hearing that name. If Tionne or any of the others around him noticed this, they hid it well.

"It was he that one day criticised the song I had been working with for several weeks. He told us that it was all a lie. Master Skywalker talked to him and asked where he got his information. I don't remember exactly what he said, but Corran Horn, the Corellian Jedi, immediately suspected Kyp to be under the influence of the _dark man_, because Corran had seen this dark spirit. We later found out that the _dark man_ was the spirit of an ancient Sith lord named _Exar Kun_. Kyp suddenly disappeared one day and soon after Carida was blown to bits."

Jahita felt tears pressing to come out. He quickly wiped them away and ignored the lump in his throat. He suddenly noticed that Tionne was shedding tears.

"It was a horrible experience to feel their deaths through the Force." She looked at Jahita. Her eyes almost shone by the tears. "You lost someone there, didn't you?"

Jahita did not know what to say at first. "How did you know?" he asked puzzled, but quickly knew that it was a silly question.

"The Force can reach out to us and tell us things. Our feelings can vibrate through the Force like when you toss a stone into a pool of water." She gave him a compassionate look. "I didn't mean to intrude."

Jahita nodded once and tried to swallow the lump in his throat that bothered him. "It's okay. I did lose someone very, very close to me."

"May I ask how you felt that day, before you were told…?" She paused. "Er, I don't know your name, I'm afraid."

"Krass. Jahita Krass," he replied. "I don't remember much, except for feeling sad and depressed, even before they told me that my au…the one I knew, was dead."

"Why do think you were sad and depressed, Krass?" Tionne asked carefully.

"I don't know. It just came abruptly and haunted me all day." He looked at Tionne; his face was filled with lack of understanding. "Why do you ask?"

Tionne sighed. "When something happens it can send vibrations through the Force. This can be felt by Force-sensitive beings, like you and me. It may well be that your feeling depressed had been caused by Carida's destruction. Master Streen, for example, could hear the death cries of the millions of people who died. It was worse for him."

Jahita almost became more puzzled. _It makes sense, but still_… "How is that possible?" he asked.

"It's difficult to explain, but the Force is strengthened by life and if life is exterminated in great numbers, then it affects the Force. Like the pool metaphor I used before. You could also think of the Force like a great web of strings. When one string snaps, the entire web vibrates."

"So that's why we can feel it. We feel the sorrow of the Force." Jahita suddenly felt as if he had received insight.

"Well, that's one way of putting it." Tionne thought for moment. "Do you see the Force as a being, Krass?"

"Kind of. It seems too strange to think of it as just a source of power," he said and quickly added, "but that doesn't mean I'm going to worship it or stuff like that."

Tionne chuckled. "I see." A gentle smile went over her face. "You have a wonderful way of seeing things, Krass."

Jahita did not quite understand Tionne's point. "What? What do you mean?"

"You don't see the Force as a tool, or as you put it '_a source of power_'. This will give you more insight of the Force and its being. It is a magnificent power that is everywhere in this galaxy. All life nourishes of it. Life is the Force and the Force is life."

Jahita lowered his eyesight and smiled. "If you put it that way, well, aye. My first encounters of the Force have really amazed me. I find it so hard to believe that people take it for granted. I truly believe that the Force-sensitivity is a gift given by the Force itself. There has to be a meaning for us having the knowledge of it."

Tionne almost could not believe she was hearing. It had been very seldom that, students so understood the ways of the Force without being trained or taught for a period of time. If there was anyone that reminded her of Jahita, it was children. Children, who had begun Jedi training, were often far more simple in their way of thinking when it came to understanding the Force than the elder beginners were. But Jahita was no child.

"How old are you, Krass?"

"I'm twenty-one standard years old."

Tionne seemed to wonder on this, but then remembered her plan of singing to the class. "It seems that we've totally forgotten about that song I wanted to sing for you all."

Everyone began to grin, but it did not last long because Tionne had already started to sing. Without fully knowing the cause, Jahita closed his eyes and fell into some sort of trance. He could still hear Tionne's melodic voice and the wonderful sound of her instrument, but suddenly it seemed to him that he could hear other instruments as well and other voices that sang with Tionne. He opened his eyes. There was no one except Tionne, but he could still hear others singing. _What in the galaxy?_ He closed his eyes again. He could feel the Force flowing strongly through him, but not as powerful as when he accidentally blinded Kyp and some other students. It was as if the song had stirred something inside him.

He almost felt one with the omnipresent Force.

* * *

"What? He recited the entire song?" Kam Solusar said. He quickly remembered to lower his voice as to not wake everybody. 

Tionne nodded.

"But he's only heard it once. How then could he recite it afterwards?"

Tionne was as puzzled as her husband was. "I don't know, Kam, I really don't know." She smiled. Jahita Krass had completely surprised her and everyone else when he had managed to recite the tale of Ulic Qel-Droma and Nomi Sunrider – Jedi he had never heard of before except for once when she had sung her ballad about these long-dead Jedi. "After I had finished the song, I asked the class if anyone wanted to tell what they had heard in the song. Before anyone was able to volunteer, he recited every single line. As he spoke I could feel the Force flowing very strongly in the room, but _so_ gently as I've never felt it before."

Kam's face made a funny expression. "Say, he's not going to steal you from me, is he?" He failed to keep his suspicious look and started to laugh.

"Shh, remember, the children are sleeping – my jealous little man." A big smile erupted on her face.

"Who's little?" Kam said and hugged her. They kissed softly and stood for a while embracing each other. "That Krass sure is a weird character," Kam finally said.

"Because he can recite a song after hearing it once?" Tionne replied with a smile.

"Well, not only that. I was more thinking about that incident the first day he came here." He sighed.

"Was it that bad, my love?" Tionne gently stroke a finger through his hair.

"No, but I sure would like to know if what that kid will turn into later on. That outburst he had – it felt like something dark, like deep anger buried beneath whatever resides in his mind." He paused for a moment. "I just wish we had more insight and wisdom in handling such strange situations." He chuckled a little, "Luke really had a tough time handling all of us and our diverse problems. Heck, he was all alone in tutoring us."

"Not alone, Kam, you helped him quite a bit. And Corran helped, too."

"Yeah, we did." He thought for a moment. "But that's the past. Now I can't help worry about the future."

"Why, Kam?" Tionne asked and held her husband tighter against her.

"With this new enemy that has come, things are about to get pretty heated around here. I fear that we'll make warriors instead of peace-makers."

"A Jedi knows no fear, or have you forgotten?" Tionne said and smiled carefully.

Her smile was returned. Kam put his hand on her cheek. "I know, but that doesn't ease the worry. I've felt something else that day Krass made that spectacle of his." He paused a second to breathe. "I felt as if something is destined for him – something terrible. I can't say for sure."

Tionne kissed him once and looked into his eyes. "Let's hope that nothing terrible will happen to him."

"Yeah, I hope so, too, my love." He gave a smile. "The same goes for all the Jedi out there, as well as here. I hope we can get through this without taking too much loss."

Tionne nodded. "The Force will help us. It must."


	4. Chapter Three: Cruelty why?

**Chapter Three**

**_Cruelty – why?_**

The sound of blasters being fired, the yelling and screaming of people, the strange guttural sounds of an unknown race filled the ears of Jahita Krass. He did not know where he was. He stood amidst a battle in almost total darkness and saw humans and some reptilian humanoids fighting each other. The humans were clearly losing the fight since he noticed that many of them turned and fled. Jahita was not attacked – it seemed as if they could not see him, but where was he?

The reptilian humanoids were about half his size. They carried weird staffs with which they slew many, regardless though that many of their victims were civilians.

_What's going on? Where am I?_

As a very large group of the reptilians passed him, he noticed that the staff had the features of a snake of some sort. Occasionally he noticed that the staffs were alive and then became stiff as sticks. The 'snakes' were apparently able to make themselves hard – sort of petrifying themselves. Occasionally the reptilians used the staffs as whips, and Jahita perceived that these were no ordinary staffs.

He tried to evade the flood of the reptilians and ducked behind some debris, which once was a building. He looked at the unfortunate humans as they were horribly butchered. Many of the reptilians fell as well under the blaster fire the defenders shot back at their foes, but the reptilians seemed to ignore their casualties and pressed the attack.

_Perhaps there's such a big bunch of them that it doesn't matter how many die._

A reptilian took position in front of him and killed a civilian armed with a blaster. The reptilian broke the man's neck and continued onwards to a position held by some humans and other species, which Jahita recognised as Twi'leks, Rodians and so forth. He stood up and followed the reptilians' advance. They did not see him anyway.

The small fortification was about to be overrun and people ran in all directions in order to escape slaughter.

It was too late.

A sudden outcry from a reptilian caught Jahita's attention. A young girl had stabbed the reptilian in his right side with a vibroblade. She was too late to duck before the reptilian struck with his staff and smashed it in the right side of her skull. She fell down, as if lifeless. The reptilian too fell to the ground, made some spasm before lying still on the ground – dead. Jahita rushed over to the girl – he knelt and took her into his arms.

_They can't see me, but yet I can touch them. Or is it only the reptilians that can't see me?_

The girl was not dead – yet at least. Jahita felt tears running down his cheeks.

_How can anyone do this? How! HOW!_

The girl opened her eyes. Tears were mixed with the blood flowing from her fractured head. A bit of brain tissue could be seen as well.

"Who…?" she managed to say.

"Shh, easy there. Don't worry. Everything will be all right…" The lump in his throat halted his voice. "Don't worry."

"Where's mother? I can't find her…" The girl's voice began to fade.

"I don't know – I – I don't know." The girl began to blink with her eyes. Jahita could feel that her life was slipping away. "Hey – hang in there! Don't give up! Every…"

The girl's eyes slowly closed and she gave a final sigh.

"No…" Jahita whispered. He looked around himself and saw people fighting for their lives – but all was in vain. Bodies lay in heaps all around him. Reptilians shrieked and stabbed the wounded repeatedly, who were unlucky to still be alive. Shrieks of victory.

_How can anyone be so evil?_

Despair filled him, and forth from his mouth came a cry that filled the entire battlefield.

* * *

"NOOOO!" Jahita almost fell out of the bed. 

_It was a dream! Only a dream! But it seemed so real!_ He was bathed in sweat and his eyes were a bit sore. He really had been crying.

"Jahita! What is it!" Eyoul entered the room. He had heard him shouting – others as well had been awakened. "What were you dreaming?"

"I don't know. A battle. A terrible – terrible battle. Many were killed. So many dead. All lay in heaps all around me. So many, Eyoul, so many." Tears began to fall again. "They even killed children. I saw them kill a girl. She – she was fighting for her life. She died. They all died!" He covered his face with his hands and started crying. "What's happening to me?" he managed to stutter through his sobbing.

Eyoul put his hand on Jahita's shoulder. "Get someone, please," he told the nearest person. "Easy now," he said comforting. "I'm sure it was just a nightmare, Jahita."

"No," he whispered. "It was no dream. Something terrible is happening. I don't know what, but something terrible. I can feel it. It's coming, Eyoul, it's coming to us."

* * *

Kam Solusar walked quickly down the corridor towards Jahita's room. 

_What has happened now?_

A few Jedi stood outside the room talking. As he entered, he saw the tearful face of Jahita and he immediately felt that this was something out of the ordinary. He turned towards the others and asked them to leave. The students acknowledged and went to their own rooms and into bed.

"May I stay, Master Solusar?" Eyoul asked.

"That depends on what Krass wants." Kam turned towards Jahita. "Jahita?"

Jahita tried to wipe away his tears. He did not answer but simply nodded.

"All right then," Kam said and sat down beside the sobbing young man. "Now, Krass, what's the matter?"

"I saw a battle in a dream," came the reply. The voice was uneasy and made a brief pause between each word.

"And you think that it wasn't just any dream, right?"

"I could feel their deaths, Master."

Jahita again tried to push aside the salty tears that kept on coming. Eyoul took forth a piece of cloth and helped him.

"I could feel them in the Force and – and even feel their fear and pain."

Kam was puzzled. He had not felt any major extinction of life through the Force, but he could clearly see that Jahita Krass had witnessed something, which perhaps would or had taken place.

"Did you see any Jedi, Krass?" Kam asked.

Jahita did not answer, but instead shook his head. After a little pause he stuttered, "Only reptilians. Thousands. All killing and murdering. They butchered all the people. No matter race or gender. All of them."

"This is – uh – quite alarming." He paused for a moment and pondered upon what he should do say. A sudden feeling of helplessness was quickly pushed aside by years of Jedi training. "Listen, you ought to get some rest. Go to sleep. I'll see what we can do about this tomorrow, all right?"

Jahita nodded carefully.

"Good." Kam rose and turned towards Eyoul. "Will you make sure he falls asleep?"

"I will, Master Solusar," Eyoul answered dutifully.

"Thank you, Shiala. Good night both of you." He turned about and left the room.

* * *

"All right now, Jahita, you heard Master Solusar. Lay down now and go to sleep." He gently pushed him down on the bed and covered him with his blanket. 

"Eyoul," Jahita said with fear in his tear-filled eyes, "Don't leave me."

"Don't worry. I'll be right here by your side, okay?" He laid his hand upon his forehead and let thoughts of peace enter Jahita's mind. Slowly Jahita's breathing became more relaxed and ultimately he fell asleep. Eyoul sighed and sat down in a chair. He had promised not to leave him, so he might as well sit by his bed and make sure that he was there when he woke up. In a way, he almost reminded him of a scared child. Seeing that Jahita was really sleeping, he began to ponder on Jahita's nightmare.

_Could it be a vision of the future?_ he thought. _He has shown some skill with the Force. Perhaps his training has triggered some sort of forth sight_.

Whatever the cause, Eyoul decided to meditate on it and fell into a trance, allowing the Force to fill him, while he searched it for an answer. He did not recognise any details in Jahita's dream, but something told him that it had something to do with current events.

_But what?_ he thought.

* * *

Kam on the other hand was on his way to the communications room – or the comm room as it also was called. Tionne had noticed that someone was trying to contact them and had told him via comlink, asking him to come. As Kam entered the room, he noticed that she was talking to someone familiar. On his approach, he recognised the face of Luke Skywalker and he sat down by the screen. He briefly looked at Tionne and knew by the look of her face that something was not right. 

"Kam," Luke said, "I have bad news."

"I thought you might say something like that," he said sighing.

Luke paused for a moment. "We've lost Dubrillion. We had to evacuate as many people as possible, but many were left behind." His voice lost some of its power as he finished the last sentence. He coughed a little to clear his throat and continued, "We made a stop on Dantooine, but the Yuuzhan Vong followed us, and in a big battle they slaughtered almost half the refugees."

"Emperor's black bones," Kam whispered. He felt an urge to knock his fists into something, but quickly dispersed of that urge. "Luke, one of our students just had a vision about a battle – or dream, to be correct."

"Really? Who?"

"The Coruscant-kid – Krass, if I remember correctly. I was awakened a little while ago by some worried students. Krass had had a horrible nightmare, or that's what I at first thought it to be, but the way he looked – well, the nightmare sure as heck scared the guts out of him. What I could make out of his stuttering was something about a battle and many dead people. And something about some reptilians that were butchering them."

Luke's face signalled surprise. "What did you say?"

"About what? The battle?"

"Yes, did you say _reptilians_?"

"Yeah, he apparently saw some creatures – reptilians, or that's what he called them. I would guess humanoids, which resemble reptiles, possibly like the Trandoshans. Why, Luke?"

"The first wave we battled was formed by small humanoid reptoids. They could be sensed vaguely in the Force for reasons unknown at this point. There were over a thousand of them and they almost totally overran our defences."

"What!"

Tionne entered the discussion. "It appears that the young man from Coruscant is more open to the Force than we've experienced so far." She half smiled and added, "That's a comfort." She turned her pearl-eyes towards the image of the Jedi Master. "Luke, what of the New Republic fleet? Will they aid you now after this disaster?"

"They already have. Just between you and me, Admiral Traest Kre'fey had deliberately chosen the Outer Rim territories near Dubrillion as place for military training. Rogue Squadron led by Gavin Darklighter aided in fighting the Yuuzhan Vong fighters, while Admiral Kre'fey helped evacuating the refugees to Dantooine. Admiral Kre'fey left us to do something important, but returned just in time to help us. Thanks to him and Rogue Squadron we're still alive." Luke sighed. It was clear to both Tionne and Kam that he was very tired.

"Luke, what about Mara and the others? Is everyone all right?" Tionne asked. Her voice echoed of worry.

Luke nodded. "Yes, they're all all right. Leia was a little wounded, though, but nothing serious. Jaina has joined Rogue Squadron and battled the coralskippers – that's what they call the Yuuzhan Vong fighters. She and the Rouges also helped a great deal fighting the army, which we fought against on Dantooine." He rubbed his forehead a little. "Jacen and Anakin helped on ground and they're both all right. They're quite shaken though by the terrible battle. Perhaps Anakin is most shaken; he managed to save Mara whilst trying to hold off the Yuuzhan Vong warriors that chased them. I and Jacen came at the last minute." Luke paused and attempted to suppress the sleepiness that tried to overwhelm him. "I'm sorry, but I was forced to tap on the Force in an attempt to turn the tide. I let a tremendous amount of power enter me and – well, this is the result. My only comfort is that my efforts helped a great deal."

"Luke, what about Corran and Ganner Rhysode? What is the situation on Bimmiel?" Kam asked.

The continuance of Luke's tired face already told them everything. "Bimmiel has also been taken by the Yuuzhan Vong. Corran was nearly killed in a fight with two Yuuzhan Vong warriors."

"What!" Kam was puzzled. "Corran! But how! What happened!"

"I'm sorry, Kam, but I can't explain it all now; I have to go." He paused. "By the way, I want the both of you to come to Coruscant as soon as possible. I want to assemble as many Jedi Knights and Masters for a meeting."

Kam nodded slightly. "Uhm, of course, Luke. We'll be on our way to Coruscant soon, okay?"

Luke put on a tired smile. "Thanks, Kam, we'll talk when you get to Coruscant."

"If it is all right with you, I would like to stay a little longer at the Academy, Master Skywalker," Tionne quickly added.

Kam's face shone with surprise. "What? Why?"

Luke said nothing, but waited for Tionne to explain herself.

"I am very concerned about Krass. I would like to help him a little more before leaving him in care of the other teachers." Tionne made sure that her words sang with the melodious compassion she was so known for. "After all, some of us have sensed that there's something amiss in that young man. If left untended, he might slip the wrong way."

Luke gave her a warm smile. "Tionne, you are right in what you're saying; of that I have no doubt. It is all right with me." He then looked at Kam. "And what say you, Kam?"

Kam cleared his throat. "Sure. Though I might add that it will be a little lonely for me having you staying here," he said and looked his wife into the eyes.

Luke nodded. "All right then, it is agreed, but, Tionne, please, don't tarry too long, okay?"

Tionne gave another warm smile. "You have my word, Master Skywalker."

"Excellent," Luke said and raised his hand up his mouth. Another yawn appeared on his face and he looked even more tired than before. "See you on Coruscant, then. Please, hurry, Kam."

Kam sighed heavily. "As you wish, Luke." He paused. "You surely look bombed." He forced himself to smile, if but a little.

Another tired smile appeared. "I'll see you soon, then. May the Force be with you, Kam and Tionne."

"And may the Force be with you all, Luke," Tionne said, allowing herself to say his name in a friendly gesture. She took hold of Kam's hand and gave it a little squeeze. "Send our love and compassion to the others, okay?"

"Be careful, Luke," Kam added.

"I will, Kam and Tionne. Farewell."

The screen went black. The transmission had ended. Kam shook his head and look into the bright eyes of his wife. His worried face was reflected in her eyes. "This sure is bad, my love," he said.

Tionne nodded and embraced her husband. "Should we tell the others here at the Academy?"

"I'm not sure." He paused. "Heck, it seems that nothing will be so sure anymore." He pulled her tighter to him. Somewhere in his mind, he hoped that the touch of someone he loved so dearly would make all the worries fade away into oblivion, but they did not.

* * *

Slowly, very slowly Jahita opened his eyes. He was afraid to once again see the terrible battlefield. He carefully looked around. He was in his room. A stretching of his muscles was followed by a sigh of relief. _Crikey, that's was horrible_, he thought and scratched his back and head. He suddenly noticed a person sitting in one of the two chairs in his room. "Eyoul? What…?" He halted his speech as he remembered asking Eyoul to stay by him. _Ffib, I've been totally freaked out!_ Carefully he got up from his bed. 

"Ah, you're awake, Jahita," a voice said, coming from behind.

"Huh? Oh, aye. I am," Jahita said with surprised look. "Did I wake you?"

"No, not really," Eyoul said.

"Ah, okay," Jahita said with a hint of uneasiness in voice.

"I see that everything is back to normal in here," a voice said, coming from the door, which Jahita had not noticed was opened.

Both Eyoul and Jahita quickly stood up as if a military commander had entered the room. It was Kam Solusar. Though the voice had alarmed them a bit, they immediately relaxed when they saw that it was the Jedi Master.

"I thought you were awake now, Krass," he said. "Just wanted to check how you were doing."

"Thank you, Master Solusar," Jahita said. "I'm feeling much better now."

Master Solusar flashed a smile, but then his face became serious again and apparently worried. "Krass, could I talk to you for a moment…alone."

"Ehm, sure, Master Solusar."

Eyoul walked to the door. "See you later, Jahita," he said and exited the room.

"Aye, see you, Eyoul, and thanks," Jahita said and waved a little with his hand.

* * *

Kam closed the door and sat down in one of the two chairs. Krass followed suit. 

"Master, what is it?" the young student asked.

Kam took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. "Jahita, your nightmare last night was no coincidence." He paused and wondered if he should tell the whole truth or just a part of it. _I feel that I would betray him if I didn't tell him everything._ Kam thought for a little while and was not disturbed by Krass, who appeared to already sense the Jedi Master's concern and waited in silence. Kam smiled a little. _Only been here for about a month almost, and already he can sense things in the Force._ He wondered for a moment whether this was good or bad, but then decided to let go of the thought and say what he had to say.

"Krass, not too long ago – no, last night actually – Master Skywalker contacted us. He told us that a virtually unknown enemy has taken Dubrillion and Bimmiel by military force, as well as Belkaden. A huge battle was fought on Dantooine and many refugees from Dubrillion were killed." He paused as he saw the stunned face on his student. "The first attack-wave by the enemy was led by humanoid reptoids. Many of them were killed, as well."

Kam noticed how cold sweat began to cover Krass's face. He seemed to swallow hard.

"The reptilians in my dream," the young student almost whispered.

"Yes, Krass. The situation on the Outer Rim is getting more dangerous. Master Skywalker'ssuspicion about a full-scale invasion appears to be true. It has also appeared that the Yuuzhan Vong, which the enemy calls itself, stands utterly outside the Force for an unknown reason." He paused a moment to let the words sink in.

"But worst of all, they butcher about all that they come across. There have also been rumours about them sacrificing people to strange gods. They don't even make a difference between civilians and the military. It's almost as if they don't even know that there is a difference. Just like in your dream."

He eyed Krass, carefully watching his reactions and what the Force could reveal to him about Krass's thoughts. So far, he could only sense minor shock and a presence of fear. The last emotion almost prompted a sigh, but it was restrained.

Kam continued, "Whatever might be happening out there, this new enemy – the Yuuzhan Vong – appear to be the cruellest enemy since the Empire. Heck, they even surpass them in some areas. And their fighting technique is beyond anything that we have ever encountered."

He gave a half smile. "But your dream about the battle – whether it was on Dantooine or somewhere else… Well, it appears that you somehow through the Force could sense it. I can't explain exactly why, but it appears that you possibly have a gift for seeing things in the Force that happen or will happen."

The young man almost jumped out of the chair. It was clear that he seemed almost appalled at this. "A gift! How can you consider this a gift! I saw people dying all around me!" he shouted.

Krass was silent for a moment, and through the Force, Kam caught a glimpse of his thoughts. The image of a young girl dying in Krass's arms flashed before his eyes.

"I saw her die," Krass whispered.

"Listen, I know this is hard for you," Kam said comforting. "Please, don't misinterpret what I'm saying. There was a cause for this, I'm sure." He rose and gently put his hand on Krass's shoulder.

Bewildered eyes met him.

"Help me, Master, please. I don't think that I could possibly handle another dream like that one again." He dropped into the chair. "Heck, I didn't know I was going to see stuff like that. They died – right in front of me, and I could do nothing. Nothing, Master, nothing at all."

The presence of fear within the young man was growing.

"Krass, listen to me." Kam let his voice become stern. "Don't let this knock you out. Being a Jedi isn't easy. Never has been and never will be. But when you have been trained, you can make a difference and hopefully help restore order in this war-torn galaxy. It is a major task for sure, but wouldn't you like to have a safe place for children to grow up in? Wouldn't you like the fact that someone would be alive to write down the history of all the races in this galaxy?" He said this because he had learned that Krass enjoyed history very much. "If the Jedi fail in keeping order here or repulse the Yuuzhan Vong, you and others, who are interested in history, might never get the chance of studying them, 'cause no one would be alive to tell them."

Sensing that Krass was really listening to what he was saying, he chose to move onto the fear, which seemed to get a tighter grip around the young student.

"A Jedi knows no fear, Krass. Despair isn't the Jedi way. Let the Force guide you and listen to it. Listen to your heart." He paused. He sensed – much to his joy – that Krass's fear had diminished. "Don't run from your destiny, accept it and live it. You have the gift of being Force-sensitive, or that's how you explained it." As he noticed the hint of a smile emerge on Jahita's face, he was glad that his wife had told him about the lesson she had had with Jahita in the Grand Audience Chamber. After all, when dealing with so many students, it could be very hard to be able to talk to them and direct them without something with which he could reach them – both heart and mind.

"I'm sorry, Master, I just felt so lost – I mean – uh, heck I don't even know how to put it…" Krass closed his eyes, sighing.

"Scared?" Kam asked.

Krass eyed Kam for a moment and then bowed his head. "Aye – sorry."

Krass was feeling ashamed – he almost emanated with it in the Force. He had let his fears overcome him, but that fear was almost vanquished. _A Jedi knows no fear_, Kam thought.

"We all make mistakes and learn from them. Don't worry, Jahita, one day you will overcome your fear. I'm sure of it," he said encouragingly.

"Thanks, Master," Krass replied and lifted his head.

Kam smiled and rose. He walked over to the door, but did not open the door right away. "Krass."

"Yes, Master Solusar?"

"I would appreciate if you didn't tell anyone of what I have told you about the situation in the Outer Rim territories."

Jahita nodded. "I understand."

* * *

Kam opened the door and walked down the corridor. Shiala Meno, who was standing there, noticed him walking by and walked over to Krass's room. 

"Hey, what was all about?" she asked.

"Ehm, just something about a dream. Nothing important," came the reply.

Shiala felt sure that there was more about the issue, but she chose to accept Krass's answer. _Well, he is kind of weird_. She waved with her hand, gesturing him to follow her. "Well, come on now. It's soon time for your lessons. You wouldn't like to go hungry all day, would you?"

"Heck, no!" he said and speeded past her. "Last one to the meals is a stinking bantha-herder!"

Shiala stood for a moment and looked at him disappearing around the corner. "Well, that sure came unexpected," she muttered and wondered if it was a mistake to even bother talking to the newcomer, since he was behaving like some kid.

"Next time, tell me in advance before you want to start a race," she shouted.

The only response she got was Krass's vague laughter echoing through the large ziggurat, mixed with the multiple sounds of the animals living in the vast jungles of Yavin 4.

* * *

Jahita Krass and his class followed Kam Solusar through the dense jungle. Everywhere they went, Jahita could sense beings either hiding beneath the bushes or in the trees. He could sense the animals' feelings, such as fear, uncertainty and other emotions, which erupted as the group of Jedi hopefuls approached. However, nearby he could sense predators that were looking for prey. He suddenly noticed that the Jedi Master's course headed straight towards the predators. For a second Jahita thought of telling Kam of what he could sense, but suddenly realised that this was a test for sure - a test to determine what action each pupil would take in order to prevent the possibility of being 'eaten'. He felt so happy about paying attention to what he had heard during the studies. _All right. No prob. I'll just thwart their desire to eat me. Piece of cake._ He paused in his thoughts._ Mmm, cake._

Suddenly a great flock of piranha-bees. They were known for stripping their unfortunate victims clean of virtually everything organic. Their buzzing was loud and threatening, which surely signalled that they would attack. Jahita, who just had thought of cakes, was caught a bit of guard. A sense of surprise and shock rolled off the other classmates.

After a short _gasp_, he quickly assumed the concentration known for a Force-wielder. _They won't get this Jedi so easily._ He opened himself to the guidance of the Force and felt it fill him up. His eyes half-closed and he sent a specific thought into the buzzing group of piranha-bees. After a second or two, the flock dispersed and descended into grass on the ground.

Jahita opened his eyes.

"Excellent, Krass," Master Solusar said, "You used the correct method in getting rid of the bees peacefully." He sat down on a log of a fallen tree. "What did you actually do?"

"Well, Master Solusar, I figured that since they're insects, they don't abide well in rain, so I just made them think that it would very soon."

"Excellent," Kam Solusar said and smiled.

Jahita returned the Jedi Master's smile. "Thank you."

"Very well, then. I think that concludes our walking for today, class." Kam stood up and looked around himself. "Now, let's climb the trees, all right?"

"You're the Jedi Master," a Twi'lek male replied.

Jahita wondered for a moment what the Twi'lek's name was, but gave up since he actually had not even tried to get to know the others in the class. Part of him did not want to know them. Having spent most of his childhood alone on Coruscant, he was an outsider per se. The only friends he had ever made had introduced themselves to him – thereafter he spoke to them as well, and eventually became a friend of theirs. However, no one in his class had even spoken to him; therefore he did not deem it necessary to know their names.

Suddenly Master Solusar tapped on the Force and jumped very high into one of the trees. The class followed suit. Jahita did likewise and landed securely on a thick branch. The tree he had landed on, poked through the carpet of leaves, which covered the sky. He could see that the jungle almost stretched as far as he could see. In the horizon, he could see the temples, which were used as the Jedi Academy, but he suddenly noticed that another ziggurat was nearby. It looked almost black and quite darker than the other temples that he had seen so far.

"Master Solusar," he called. "Is that also one of the ancient temples Exar Kun forced the Massassi people to build?" He remembered the name of the long dead Sith Lord from what Tionne had told them all in the Grand Audience Chamber.

The Jedi Master turned his eyes towards where Jahita was pointing. As he saw the ziggurat, Jahita almost felt certain that Solusar's hair stood on edge just as Jahita mentioned the name of the ancient Dark Lord of the Sith.

"Yeah, I guess it is," Master Solusar finally replied and coughed as if to clear his throat. "Come on, class. We still need to get back to the temple, and if we stay any longer, it could get dark before we get there."

Jahita wondered for a moment on why Solusar seemed slightly elusive, but decided for himself that it was probably an effect of what he and his fellow Masters and Jedi Knights had experienced in their days of training.

Jahita concentrated on following the Jedi Master as he jumped from one treetop to another, seeming to always find the correct spot to land on. The class followed suit. Jahita felt how the Force guided him – it appeared to happen so fast. In his mind, he could see images flash – they showed him the branches he could safely land on. Occasionally he stopped and looked back at the lone ziggurat that towered over the dense jungle, but he would move on and trying to catch up with the Jedi Master and his classmates. Yet it seemed like the lonely ziggurat called out to him – or was it just his curiosity?

* * *

The stars filled the night sky. Jahita felt as if he were part of the universe – as if he had joined with it. He was standing at the foot of the Great Temple, looking up at the stars, allowing the Force to fill him. Occasionally a meteorite would enter the atmosphere and send a trail of white light as it was burned up. Sometimes it would also rain with the precious Corusca-gems, which would in some way be released from the grip of the gas-giant, but that was not the case this night – or at least to his knowledge. Jahita knew that some students had used these gems as an important ingredient to their lightsabres. 

_Lightsabres. Wonder what mine will look like._

Even though he knew that students did not build a lightsabre straight after receiving a little training, he had been thinking about it. In the many days he had spent in the Academy, Eyoul had taught him a bit of the mechanic stuff, but it had been so little that he really could not say that he knew more about it than before.

He sighed. Hopefully, he would learn enough before he would be given the test of building himself a lightsabre. A smile appeared on his face. He trusted that Eyoul would do his 'job' well.

Suddenly he felt something in the Force. It warned him of something. No sooner had he sensed this before he saw a white light descending fast from the sky. His eyes followed this light as it fell from the sky.

_What the_…

The light could almost resemble a meteorite burning up in the atmosphere, but this was too close. His guess was that it had already penetrated the atmosphere and was now about to land somewhere nearby. In a matter of seconds this particular light seemed to land on top of the Great Temple. A minor pillar of smoke slowly rose before vanishing a moment later.

Jahita decided to investigate and immediately made his way to the Great Temple's roof. It took him a few minutes before he stood in front of a small hole in the roof of the ancient structure. Upon closer inspection, Jahita could see that in the middle of the hole, which had turned black by the heat, was a small rock of some sort, which had dug itself a little into the hard exterior of the temple's roof.

He frowned as he tried to study the small rock closer. It was still warm, so he decided it best not to touch just yet. _Such a descent causes a lot of friction and thus a lot of heat_, he summarised to himself. He did not want to burn his hand.

His thoughts were interrupted as he felt another presence that was approaching the roof. He immediately recognised the person, even before she got there.

"Hi, Shiala Meno," he said and tried to suppress the smile.

"How did you know it was me?" the young Corellian girl asked a bit confused.

"I just felt it," he said and turned to face her.

"Just felt it? But for many it takes months learning that. Who taught you?"

Jahita was about to answer, but only opened his mouth. No words escaped him. It had suddenly struck him. "Heck, no one!" he said puzzled.

"I guess that you're a fast learner. Perhaps you learned it in some self-exploration, then?"

Jahita shook his head. "No, I haven't." Confusion pulsed through him. _The Force is a strange thing_, he thought.

"Perhaps you're more open to the Force in some way," Shiala Meno concluded.

He nodded slightly, temporarily accepting that. "Aye, probably."

Shiala noticed the black spot on the roof. She eyed him as a hint of smile went across her face. "Say, what did you eat for supper?"

"What?" Jahita said and fixed his gaze on her. A second later, he looked down at the black spot and realised what Shiala meant. "So you're suggesting I fart a lot, eh?"

Shiala grinned. "Gotcha!"

Even Jahita could not help laughing. "I'm glad to see that you also know how joke," he said. His laughter slowly died and he once again turned his attention to the small rock. It seemed cooler now. Carefully he lowered his hand toward it and picked it up. It was still a little warm, but was cool enough for him to hold it in his hand.

"What is it?" Shiala asked.

"I don't know. It looks like some sort of rock, but it's too smooth for a meteorite."

"Odd," she said and knelt beside him.

_Man, she smells really nice_, Jahita thought for a moment, but quickly shielded his thoughts. He thought it best that she did not notice what he was thinking.

Shiala seemed not to notice anything from him as she kept her gaze locked on the small rock in his hand. After a few seconds of silence she finally said, "Krass, you know what I think?"

For a second, cold sweat appeared on his forehead. "Nope," he simply replied. "I'm not that powerful in the Force."

She arched an eyebrow at him, but then turned down her gaze again. "I think it looks like a gemstone of some sort, or perhaps a crystal."

"Really?" he said with excitement in his voice.

"I'm not positively sure, but it looks like it." Shiala rose.

"All right!" He rose, walked over to the edge and sat down. He gestured with his hand that Shiala should sit down beside him. "Say, would you mind sitting here with me for a while?" he asked.

"Sure," she replied and walked over to him and sat down. "I don't have much to do tonight anyway."

The two of them watched the stars above.

"Sure is pretty tonight," she said.

"Aye," he replied.

"Uhm, Krass. May I ask you something?"

"Aye."

Shiala scratched her neck As though she did not know exactly what to say. After a moment, she finally said, "Krass, how can it be that you were joking and laughing after that horrific dream you had? I mean, didn't you say that it was for real?"

Jahita sighed. "So, everyone's talking about it now, huh?"

"Yeah," she replied and waited for him to answer.

He did not look at her. Instead, he fixed his gaze on the little stone in his hand. Slowly it started to hover above his hand as he used his telekinetic abilities.

"Krass?"

He coughed and the stone slowly landed in his palm. "I'm sorry…I – I just tried to forget it. I mean – I, uh – heck, what can I do about such a nightmare? I mean, it was horrible." He paused. Images from the nightmare flashed before his eyes. He could see the girl that died in his arms. The hand holding the stone became a fist. "They all died," he said dismayed. "I couldn't do anything to help them. I just don't want to remember it, that's all. I make jokes so that I won't remember." A little insecure laugh escaped him. "When you laugh about something you forget all the cruelty of the world – uh, I mean in galaxy."

"Are you sure about that?" she asked him.

He did not reply, but shook his head lightly.

"There, you said it yourself."

Jahita put the empty hand to his eyes.

Shiala noticed that he was shaking a bit. "Hey, are you crying again?"

"I'm sorry – I – I…" His voice flickered and ended. He rose and wanted to leave, but Shiala grabbed his sleeve.

"Hey, Krass. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be rough on you." She paused. "Are you sure it wasn't a just dream and nothing else?"

He nodded. "Aye."

"But how do you know that?" she asked.

"Master Solusar told me tha…" He halted.

"What?" she said alarmed. "What did he tell you?" she almost demanded.

"Nothing." He turned about and tried to walk away.

"Jahita!" she said with a hint of anger, but quickly eased her voice, making it softer. "Come on. Why won't you tell me?"

"Because you wouldn't like what I would tell you - that's why." His voice had gained some volume.

"Hey, you can trust me." Her expression was gentle in a way that probably could even melt a wampa's icy heart.

Jahita sighed. "I know, Meno, I know." He looked up at the stars. "Listen, I know you're all right." He paused a second and continued, "It isn't safe out there anymore, Meno." He lowered his eyes and met the eyes of Shiala's confused face. "I'll tell you why, but you mustn't tell anyone, all right?"

She nodded.


	5. Chapter Four: New Friendships

**Chapter Four**

_**New Friendships**_

Jahita Krass walked down the corridor with the small stone in his hand, the selfsame stone that he had found last night. He was going to the landing area just outside the Great Temple. _I can't wait to see her face when I show her the stone._ He stopped and looked at it for a moment. A noise alerted him of the presence of other students. He quickly put it into his pocket. He walked nonchalantly pass them, but was polite enough to say 'hi' – he did not want to attract too much attention. As soon, he was clear he made his way to the landing area.

* * *

Shiala Meno stood outside the Great Temple, filled with excitement. She almost could not wait to show her friends what her father had finally sent her all the way from Corellia. _Boy, this'll sure take some work, but it'll be worth it, all right._ A smile went across her face.

"Hi, Shiala!" a voice interrupted, "What's the surprise?"

Shiala turned around and saw Tarrik Wend, Vrilas K'tor and Eyoul Gaad coming towards her. "I don't know how thrilled you will be, but I'm sure that I'll be smiling for the rest of the day," she boomed. "Come on." She led them to something covered by a very large blanket.

"Meno," another voice shouted. "Hey, remember what I found last night?"

The four friends turned heads to see who was shouting. It was Jahita Krass, who came running.

"For crying out loud," Tarrik muttered.

"Tarrik, be nice," Shiala rebuked. "He's new around here and hardly knows anyone."

"Very true," Eyoul said.

Vrilas chuckled. "He sure can run in this heat. C'mon, Tarrik. Let's cut him some slack, okay?"

Tarrik rolled his eyes. "Okay, okay. Whatever."

* * *

Jahita wondered if he ever had seen such a large blanket before, but then his thoughts were directed on what might lie beneath. "What is it?"

"Close your eyes," Shiala said to the four male Jedi that accompanied her. "And don't you dare look – any of you."

"As you wish," Jahita replied and closed his eyes. "I might as well turn around, just to be safe." And so he did. He could hear Tarrik sighing slightly and that Shiala pulled off the blanket.

"Okay, you may look."

Jahita, Tarrik, Vrilas and Eyoul either turned about or just opened their eyes. In front of them was a small star fighter. It was an older model, Jahita could tell. He knew it. It had been a favourite of his, but the name just eluded him for some reason. Perhaps it was the joy. "What was it they called that one?"

Shiala was about to answer, but another voice interrupted her. "It's a Z-ninety-five Headhunter. They sure kicked Hutt ass when they were at their highest," Vrilas said and chuckled. "Now they're antics at best."

"Aye, that's it. I just couldn't remember right now, that's all," Jahita said. He suddenly realised that he had tried to hide his lack of remembrance. _Heck, I thought I was the modest chappy, who admitted any mistake. I had better practice that a little harder._

"You don't like it, K'tor?" Shiala asked.

Vrilas' face signalled indecision. "Well, I don't know. It was kinda interesting fighter back then, you know, but I'm afraid that it's somewhat obsolete now."

"So you are a spacer, then?" Jahita asked.

"Yeah, I'm kinda born with it, I guess." Vrilas walked over to the Headhunter for closer study. "Say, it doesn't look too worn out. Who did you buy it from?"

"I didn't buy it; my dad sent it to me from Corellia. He promised me a fighter for my birthday, and – well – here it is." Shiala padded the wing of the Z-95.

"What! It's your birthday? And you didn't tell me?" Jahita almost shouted. "Heck, now I have to spend all the day figuring what to give to you for a present."

Shiala smiled. "Ah, don't worry. I'm not going anywhere. Besides, I wanted to spend some of the day modifying the Headhunter."

Jahita nodded. "Well, perhaps I should lend you a hand, then."

"You read my mind, Krass." She turned towards Tarrik, Vrilas and Eyoul. "How about you guys? You want to help, too? Extra hands are always welcome."

Vrilas scratched his chin as if he was speculating. "Sure, why not, I'm not doing anything until a few hours anyway. Besides, I've got a little experience with the Z-ninety-fives."

"Really? What did you do before you got here? Smuggling?" Jahita said with big smile.

"Uh, no, no – ah, I've just tried a bit of almost everything, that's all," Vrilas said and took off his jacket. "Say, where are your tools?"

"They're right here," Shiala said and lifted a box filled with all kinds of working tools, which were ideal for almost any type of spaceship, it being a fighter or a shuttle.

"I'll be happy to give you some assistance," Eyoul said.

"Excellent. Happy to have you onboard," Shiala giggled. "Tarrik?"

"Sorry, Shiala, but I have to leave Yavin Four today. I need to get ready," he said and shrugged.

"What? Why didn't you tell me?" Shiala asked, apparently hurt.

"Oh, dear," Vrilas whispered. "Someone's about the get some Corellian irritation turned towards him."

"Huh?" Jahita uttered.

Vrilas took him by the shoulder and escorted him away from Tarrik and Shiala, whose conversation seemed to get a little heated. "C'mon, Krass. Can't you see two lovebirds even when they're right under your very nose?"

Jahita's heart sank. _Great_, he thought.

* * *

Jahita tried to follow Shiala's instructions, but he was still pondering on what Shiala and Tarrik's argument had resulted in. After a moment, he chose to discard his thoughts. He, Shiala Meno, Vrilas K'tor and Eyoul Gaad were currently modifying the old Z-95 Headhunter as best they could. Jahita was mainly there to learn, but to him, progress seemed so painfully slow.

"I was hoping to make it good enough for use in today's space faring," Shiala said while she was working on the engine. "It might come in handy if I ever should fight off some boogies. I could have the advantage of them underestimating me when they see me flying an old Headhunter."

"Smart move," Vrilas said, "I think I know some way to maximise the power-ups on this thing."

"Great, I was hoping for something like that." Shiala wiped the sweat from her face.

Jahita was sitting on top of the Headhunter and watched what she did to the engines. She continually told him what the things were and what she did to open them, repairing them etc. Vrilas, who had some first hand experience, also contributed some wisdom, while Eyoul remained silent, apparently content on letting Jahita get to know Vrilas and Shiala better. Jahita swallowed everything and was thankful for this opportunity. The Z-95 Headhunter was the only '_very complicated thing_' that he had ever liked.

After two hours of discovering flaws and fixing them, the four Jedi sat down for a rest. Working outside in the warmth was not the smartest thing to do.

"Shiala, wouldn't it be a good idea if you talked to Master Solusar. Perhaps we could get it into the hangar and continue in there," Vrilas said and wiped the sweat off his brow.

"Good call, Vrilas," Shiala said and rose, "I'll go right away. You just stay put. I won't be long, all right?"

"Aye, no prob," Jahita said. "Oh, by the way, bring some water with you, okay?"

"Okay!" she shouted as she was running into the Great Temple.

"Oh boy, I'm so warm. I knew I should have put on the grey jump suit. Swisch, with this heat I wouldn't mind going turboskiing on Coruscant again." He sighed.

"Ah, Coruscant. Quite an urban world. Can't say I ever liked it there, though," Vrilas said calmly.

"Aye, I've never really liked it there either, but now I sure miss the temperate climate instead of this jungle heat."

"Yeah, I know what you mean. I often miss the cold of space. This moon is a bit too warm for my taste."

The three of them sat a moment quiet, not knowing what to say, though Eyoul still seemed content with staying silent. Jahita sometimes found the Bith to be a bit weird, but then again he did not know much about the species.

Vrilas coughed a little and ended the silence. "So, got a girlfriend on Coruscant?"

"No, only a few friends," Jahita quickly replied.

"Oh." Vrilas nodded.

The silence erupted once again. The two Jedi looked at the gas-giant that loomed over the temples.

"Say, have you ever found one of those Corusca-gems from Yavin?" Jahita asked. He had suddenly remembered the small stone in his pocket.

Eyoul shook his head whilst looking at Jahita.

"No, can't say I have, but I've seen a couple of 'em. Why?" Vrilas asked.

"Well, I got this stone, I think it's a gem, but I'm not sure." He took forth the small stone, which nearly landed on him last night. The stone was purplish and resembled a diamond in many ways. "I've never seen such a stone before." He looked at Vrilas and extended the stone to him. "Have you ever seen one of these before?"

Vrilas took the stone and looked closely at it. "I think, yeah, but can't say I remember what they were called. Eyoul, something you know?"

"No," Eyoul replied. "I'm afraid not."

"Where'd you find it?" Vrilas asked Jahita.

"On the top of the Great Temple. I was standing outside and looking at the stars last night and…" He paused.

"Yeah, and…?"

"Well, it sounds quite funny, but I felt a disturbance in the Force so I looked up. Suddenly this stone falls down from the sky and lands on top of the Great Temple."

"Okay… Funny."

Eyoul merely caressed his small chin with his hand in a thoughtful manner.

"You tell me. Anyway, this stone or gem, or what it is, was lying there. But what puzzles me even more is that it didn't break or was smashed into pieces by the impact."

"Yeah, that's odd." Vrilas lifted it up and tried to look into it. "Hmm, looks to me that it's quite flawless."

Jahita raised one eyebrow. "Flawless? What do you mean?"

"Well, gems tend to have a rate of flaws. The fewer flaws it has the more money you get for selling it." Vrilas handed back the gem to Jahita.

"How do you know these things? You've been a merchant?"

"Uh, no – not exactly, no, but something of that sort." Vrilas wiped the sweat of his forehead. "Sure is hot today."

Jahita looked more closely at the purple gem. "Hey, could I use this in a lightsabre?"

"Yeah, sure, but if you wanna double-check you can use the Force to check the gem's stability and stuff like that."

"All right!" Jahita boomed. After a second of silence he finally said, "How do I do that?"

Vrilas smiled. "Say, you're an honest guy, kiddo." He patted Jahita on shoulder. "I'll show ya. I _have_ learned something at this Academy. Give me it to me again."

Jahita put the gem into his hand.

"All right, though this gem ain't a living thing, the Force can still tell you much about it. It probably came out of some planet and planets tend to be full of life in one way or the other. So gems are still kinda connected to the Force, if you catch my drift." He paused and thought for a moment. "Well, that ain't important. The Force can penetrate everything and it can reach out to you and tell you stuff about things. It's quite odd, actually, but it works. So, only thing you gotta do is to reach out with the Force and feel the gem. Examine it. The Force can show you if there are any flaws, which might ruin your chance for using it in a lightsabre."

Jahita nodded. "Sounds simple enough."

"Well, yeah, in some way it's simple, but it ain't just that easy always. That's why we practice, so that we can perform better in different things." He again handed the gem back to Jahita. "Try it, Jahita."

"Oookay," came the reply. Jahita closed his eyes and let the Force flow within him. He concentrated his thoughts on the gem in his hand and levitated it, so that it stood still right in front of his face. In his Force-vision, he could see the cloud of light, which penetrated everything – including the gem. The Force was binding the gem together, or so it seemed to him. Upon closer inspection, he could see every aspect of the gem. It was marvellous, since he had never seen what a gem looked like inside. Though one could look through it, it still was not the same as looking from within it. He looked at the 'walls' of the gem. _No scratch at all. Wow! What kind of gem is this, anyway?_

"Hey! I've got refreshments for you!" a voice interrupted.

Jahita was snapped out of his concentration and lost his invisible grip on the gem. It landed securely between his legs.

Shiala came running with some canisters, probably filled with water. "What were you doing?" she asked.

"Uhm, just checking my gem for flaws."

"Gem? What gem?" Shiala gave them a canister each and started to drink from her own.

"You know the little stone that fell down from space and landed on top of the Great Temple." Jahita picked it up.

"Oh, right. I remember." She crouched and looked closely at it. "But I only remember it being black."

"Well, I washed it and gave it a good polishing. This is the result." He handed it over to Shiala, who examined it closely.

"Sure is pretty. What're you gonna use it for?" She took another gulp from the canister.

"I could use it once I'll build my own lightsabre."

"Uh huh," Shiala said cheerfully and gave him the gem. "That would be a smart thing to do." She sat down beside them. "It's very beautiful."

Jahita only nodded and rested his head against the Headhunter. The four of them rested in the cool shadow of the Z-95. After a moment of peaceful silence, Shiala suddenly remembered what she had been doing in the Great Temple. "Oh, by the way, I talked to Master Solusar and he said that it was all right for us putting the Headhunter into the hangar bay."

"All right!" Jahita boomed and nearly smacked his head into the Headhunter's wing as he nearly jumped up. "Whoa! That was close."

Vrilas and Shiala grinned and Jahita joined their laughter, while Eyoul seemed to actually smile.

"So, tomorrow we'll put it into the hangar next to the _Corellian Sparrow_, and then we can really start modifying the Headhunter," Shiala said still with a very big smile.

"_Corellian Sparrow_?" Jahita asked.

"Oh, that's my ship. A YT-two-thousand. Old, but reliable," Shiala said as Jahita sat down again. "What? Did you think I came here flying without a ship, or what?"

"Well, thinking of how you been acting today, it wouldn't surprise me," Jahita said and grinned.

"You and your jokes, Krass," Shiala said whilst trying to suppress an upcoming laughter.

"Well, if you don't mind me helping out further, I'd be happy to oblige," Vrilas said and rose, thus ending the ship-issue.

"Thanks, that would be swell," Shiala said and likewise rose.

"Okay, it's a deal. I'll see you all later." Vrilas walked over to the temples nearby.

"Thanks for your help, Vrilas."

Vrilas did not turn around, but instead raised one hand as if to wave to them. After a few steps, he stopped and turned his head. "Hey, thanks for the water." He had remembered his manners.

"You're welcome," Shiala said and raised her canister in salute.

Vrilas continued on his path.

"Nice chap, wouldn't you say?" Jahita said and drank some more water.

"Yeah, always is. He knows a lot more about the Z-ninety-five than I do."

"You said it." He paused. "And that makes me wonder." He rose.

Shiala peeled her eyes. "What? You think he's a smuggler?"

"Well, I don't know, but he sure seemed to be one."

"That doesn't matter. When he's here at the Academy, he's a fellow student like everybody else."

Jahita nodded. "Aye, you got that right." He looked at the disappearing figure of Vrilas as he entered one of the temples. "He taught me how to use the Force to examine the gem. It was really interesting."

"What did you find out?" Shiala asked curiously.

"That I can use it for a lightsabre and one other important thing." He paused and waited for Shiala to ask.

"And that is…?"

"That you are perfect for ruining my concentration," Jahita said and started sniggering.

"What? Why, you!" Shiala tossed some water out of the canister at Jahita, but unfortunately, for her, he used the Force to send the water back into her face. She cried out in surprise.

"Gotcha!" he shouted and ran away.

"Come back here!" she yelled and ran after him. "Come and get what's coming to you!"

Jahita's only response was laughter.

This only left Eyoul behind, smiling and shaking his head a little until he started following them slowly.

* * *

Jahita was sitting at his table in his room inside the centuries old temple. The only light source available was the glowlamp fastened to his table. It gave excellent light in the room. Outside the usual sounds of predators looking for food could be heard, as well as the nightly songs of a particular kind of bird, whose name Jahita did not know. Occasionally Jahita's concentration would falter as he was almost captivated by the wonderful whistling of these animals. He wondered if there could be the possibility that the Massassi perhaps had a legend for the cause of these birds' fantastic songs.

_The Force is surely magnificent, just like Tionne said._

His concentration returned and he turned his eyes at the small purple gem that lay on his table.

_Aye, this gem is ideal as a component in a lightsabre, all right._

The thought of building a lightsabre had eventually gripped him entirely. He laughed quietly. _All because of a little purple gemstone. Who would have thought?_ He lifted it up and held it in front of the glowlamp – rays of purple light shone on his face. _So beautiful._ He felt as if he could not wait until the day he would put it into the metal cylinder that would contain all the necessary components, which would bring the energy blade to life. _With it, I could fight those destroyers of life._ He swallowed hard; the image of the dying girl kept haunting him.

"_Where's mother? I can't find her_…" her voice suddenly echoed in his mind.

Jahita almost let out an outcry, but managed to restrain himself. He suddenly noticed that he was standing. The shock had made him jump up from the chair. He quietly raised the chair back on its four legs and sat down again. Sweat was pouring down his forehead. _What the heck was that?_ He wiped away the salty drops. _Just memories from the nightmare. Nothing to worry about._

His thoughts returned to the gem in an effort to forget – yet despair almost gripped him. It was very seldom that novices built their lightsabres after nearly a month's training – if ever! But there was an urge within him that cried out to every corner of his soul. He felt that he had to hurry, but he did not know for what purpose. He stood up and tried to walk the thoughts off him, but to no avail. The desire was still there, the passion…

_There is no passion; there is serenity_. The lines from the old Jedi Code echoed in his mind. They felt like raindrops on dusty ground, which was hungry for water after months of being dry. However, there was still a feeling of uneasiness. _Calm, Jahita, calm_.

Jahita frowned, closed his eyes and shook his head lightly. He tried to use one of the Jedi techniques to make himself relax, but even that did not help. He suddenly noticed that he had changed. He was no longer the same modest and nervous fellow, who hated flying. He was a Jedi, who knew of the existence of the Force and all its powers, which were meant to preserve life in every thinkable way. Through it, he had gotten a big interest in all living things, as well as plants of many sorts.

"_Where's mother?_" the voice echoed once more.

"No, stop it!" Jahita said aloud.

"_I can't find her_…"

"NO!" He put his hands to his ears. "STOP IT!" His voice grew in volume.

A sigh was heard inside his head – the same sigh he had heard from the girl in the nightmare, who died in his arms.

"STOP IT!" he screamed and ran out of his room. Some doors were opened as he ran past them. His screaming had alarmed some of the students. Jahita did not care. He just wanted the voice to stop. He could not take it.

He speeded outside and ran towards the Great Temple. He came inside and made his way to the Grand Audience Chamber. He did not stop until he reached the podium. After a moment of panting and trying to catch his breath, he looked around himself. _What's happening to me? What's going on here?_

A sudden commotion made him turn about. He saw a woman with white hair and almost shining bright eyes. A little outcry escaped him, but then he recognised her. It was Tionne.

"Jahita, what's the matter?"

He did not answer; instead, he fell to his knees and started to cry. Tionne knelt beside him and put her hands around his shoulders. She pulled him up a bit and hugged him. She put one hand on his head and stroked her fingers through his hair.

"Easy there now. Tell me, what has happened?"

"She keeps on haunting me," he sobbed, "I can even hear her voice…" A lump in his throat interrupted him. "I can't get rid of her voice."

"Shh, it's okay," Tionne said gently. "There was nothing you could do about it."

"Then why does the Force allow me to see her die? I don't know her! I don't know all the other people who died there! Why? Why did _I_ have to see it?" He held his hands in front of his face and looked at them, but there was no help in covering his face with them – _her face remains in my head_.

Tionne sighed. "I don't know, Jahita. I can't say that I have great insight on why the Force does things the way it does, but I figure that the dream has a meaning or purpose."

Jahita frowned. "Meaning? The only thing I got from that dream was a lust for revenge." His tone was angry.

"Jahita. No. Revenge is not the Jedi way."

"How would you know! You're just an historian!" he snarled at her.

"Jahita!" Tionne said firmly. Her eyes shone with authority. "Just listen to what you're saying!"

Jahita felt the bitter feeling of being ashamed. He bowed his head and released himself from her semi-embrace. "I – I'm sorry…I, uh, I…" His voice faltered and faded. More tears ran down his cheeks. "I'm sorry," he whispered.

Tionne sighed and thought for a moment. "Let me tell you something more about the Jedi Knight Ulic Qel-Droma, okay?"

Jahita did not respond, but simply nodded.

"Four thousand years ago the threat of the Sith had begun to emerge once again. The Dark Side had new powerful servants, Aleema and Satal Keto, who were the heirs of the Empress Teta system. Along with some of their friends, the two heirs murdered their parents and took control of the system, which consisted of seven major planets. The spirit of a long-dead renegade Jedi, called Freedon Nadd, had instructed these two heirs, who called themselves the Krath. Exar Kun, who was the one that forced the Massassi to build these old temples, later destroyed this spirit. He too had been initiated in the ways of the Sith by Nadd.

"During these events the Old Republic tried stop the Krath's invasion of the last free planet in the Empress Teta system. They sent a fleet for this purpose and along went Ulic Qel-Droma and Nomi Sunrider. They were to battle the Krath, but unfortunately, they were overwhelmed by the Dark Side illusions, which tricked the fleet into a trap. The fleet was forced to retreat. During this engagement, Ulic was wounded, but survived. This event caused the Jedi Masters to convey many thousand Jedi on the planet Deneba, where they discussed how best to quench the Dark taint in the Empress Teta system, but during this meeting the Krath launched an attack. Deadly droids were unleashed upon the Jedi and Ulic's own Master was killed after having saved Ulic.

"Needless to say, Ulic was devastated by his Master's death and vowed revenge. The Jedi Masters warned him, his brother, Cay Qel-Droma, warned him, and even Nomi Sunrider warned him of the consequences, but he would not change his mind. He wanted to learn the knowledge of the Dark Side and try to destroy the Krath from within. It did not go as he had planned. After he had rescued Aleema from being murdered, he was interrogated and tortured by Satal, who wanted to be sure of Ulic's claims of his defection from the Jedi Order. For this purpose, Satal gave Ulic poison of Sith design, which in some mystic way enhanced the rage of its victim. Thus began Ulic Qel-Droma's path on the Dark Side. He eventually killed Satal, unknowing that it had been Aleema's intention all along. He had become her puppet.

"Other things occurred as Nomi Sunrider and Cay Qel-Droma tried to rescue him. He refused to come with them and they agreed to let him follow his own path, though they knew it could destroy him. After they had left, Exar Kun came. The two renegade Jedi allied along with Aleema. They waged a terrible war against the Old Republic and even attacked Coruscant. Ulic's tragedy enlarged as he killed his own brother, who tried once again to sway him from his path. This act struck into the very core of Ulic's soul and lifted the shroud of the Dark Side from his eyes. He finally understood his error. Nomi Sunrider was terrified by Ulic's murder of his own brother – she used a special Jedi power to make him blind to the Force for the rest of his life, but even after this, he betrayed Exar Kun and told the Jedi of where Kun had his stronghold." She finally paused and looked at Jahita. "Do you know where Kun's stronghold was?"

Jahita, who had been almost hypnotised by the sorrowful tale, cleared his throat and finally said, "Aye, 'twas here – on Yavin Four."

Tionne nodded. "Everything was wiped out. Every single Massassi was destroyed. Most of them by Kun's frantic ditch effort in securing his survival. The fate of the rest is not clear, but it is certain that they perished." She turned her gaze at the large window-looking openings in the walls. Stars were flickering in the distance. "Revenge is _not_ the Jedi way. Ulic paid a high price for this lesson." She looked straight into his eyes. Her face was filled with compassion. "Don't follow Ulic's trail," she said almost whispering.

Despite this, her words seemed to cry out to Jahita. He could feel a chill running down his spine. "There is no passion; there is serenity," he said in a low voice, "There is no emotion; there is peace."

Tionne smiled. "I'm glad you understand." She rose. "I'll talk to my husband, he'll help you with the voices, okay?"

"Thank you," he merely said. He did not know how else to express his gratitude. He opened his mouth again, but only managed to say, "Thank you" again.

Tionne nodded to him and walked down from the podium. It was then that Jahita noticed Shiala, who was standing about five metres away from him.

"Hey," she said insecurely.

"Hey," he said and extended his hand towards her.

She understood and came over to him. He was sitting on the floor now. She knelt beside him and embraced him, holding one hand around his neck while the other pressed his head against her chest. "You okay?"

"No," he said.

"Oh…uhm…" She paused. She did not know what to say. After a moment of silence she finally said, "Can I help you in some way? Get you anything?"

"No," came the reply, "just hold me." He just wanted to feel the secure presence of someone he knew he could trust. He did not want to be alone.

She held him tighter. "Okay, Jahita." _This sure is one peculiar guy_, she thought.

Jahita closed his eyes and really hoped that Master Solusar would come soon, he hoped that the Jedi Master could help end the nightmare, which presented itself though he was awake. _I wish that the images would go away. I wish that I never had this dream_, he thought. Despite these wishes, he knew that the past could not be undone. _What have I brought myself into? Did I make the right decision of joining this Academy? Was it at all a good thing to learn about the Force?_ He frowned at his own thoughts. _What am I thinking? I've started a journey down a path, which enables me to help others. I can't back down now. Not just because I have a nightmare, which continues to haunt me._ He suddenly shivered. The nightmare was not just a small obstacle on his path – especially not when it haunted him. _Heck, I hope Master Solusar can help me on this one._

"Shiala," he slowly said.

"Yeah?"

"Thanks…for helping me."

She smiled. "No _prob_," she said, mimicking his abbreviation of the word 'problem'.

At the same time, Kam Solusar arrived. His mere presence gave Jahita a sense of his prayers were being heard. Shiala released Jahita from her embrace, but kept a hand on his shoulder. Kam walked up to the podium and knelt beside Jahita. A sigh escaped him. "You sure experience a lot of weird things, Jahita Krass."

Jahita smiled a little. It sure had been turbulent weeks and he had surely caught everybody's attention since the day he arrived, but he did not know whether to decide if that was a good thing or not.

"Tionne explained everything." He paused and his face became stern. "I would be lying if I told you that it didn't upset me, what you said to her, but I'm glad that you apologised."

Jahita felt sure that his size began to diminish, but he knew that it was not a fact. "I'm sorry, Master," he whispered filled with shame.

Kam's stern expression faded away and left only a concerned look. "It's okay, Krass. I'm glad that you realise that saying things like that can break down many things inside people. Luckily Tionne isn't as fragile as she might look; trust me, I know." Kam smiled a little. "Okay, tell me everything. What happened in your room?"

Jahita took a deep breath and told him all the details.

* * *

The next morning Jahita sat by the table again and looked at his precious gem. He had managed to get enough sleep, but inside he felt worn out and exhausted. He knew that this was not a physical tiredness. The nightmare and the haunting voice had taken its toll on him. Despite this, he was okay. Kam Solusar had helped him a great deal last night by letting peace flow into his mind. After this, he and Tionne had called upon the Force to encircle Jahita within a wall of light, which would protect him against nightmares for the time being. He would be a liar, if he said it had not helped.

A knock on the door was heard and Jahita turned around in the chair. "Come in. It's open."

The door slid open and a man stepped in. "So, this is your resting place," the person said humorously. It was Vrilas K'tor.

Jahita smiled. "Ah, a fellow joker." He grinned. "It's good to see you again, K'tor."

"Well, I figured you needed some company after what happened last night, so I decided to drop by." He sat down on the other chair. "You don't mind me sitting here, huh?"

"No, not at all. As I said, it's good to see you. I sure could use some company now anyway."

Vrilas chuckled. "Yeah, I know what you mean." He began fishing something up from one of his many pockets on the brown jacket. "Say, you like Corellian ale by any chance?" He placed a bottle on the table.

Jahita's smile grew bigger. "Sure do, Vrilas. And, boy, could I drink a glass of it right now." Jahita opened a drawer and picked up two cups. "I hope they're to your satisfaction."

Vrilas wrinkled his nose and had a curled grin on his face. "Well, I suppose these cups factor into the title 'a clean glass', so what the heck. Let's pour some ale into 'em."

"Best suggestion so far, K'tor." He handed him the cups.

Vrilas poured into the cups and put the flask back into one of his many pockets. He lifted his cup. "By the way, I'd appreciate if you wouldn't tell anybody about my having one of these things here."

"Oh, don't you worry about that," Jahita said and raised his cup as well. The two cups met with a small _thump_. "If you should worry about anything, it would be to keep that ale away from me." The two of them grinned and sipped from the cups. "Ahhhh, the Corellians sure know how to make some good ale."

"They sure do," another voice said. It came from the door, which the two chaps had not noticed opening. They both turned their heads and tried to hide the cups. "I know all about Corellian ale. You care to share some of it with me?"

"Meno." Jahita let out a sigh of relief as he recognised the young Corellian woman. "Heck, I almost thought it was one of the Masters."

"Well," Shiala said with a smile, which almost melted Jahita, "I intend to come that far one day."

"What? Exposing me while I drink some ale?" Jahita said.

"What? No, becoming a Jedi Master, dummy." Then she noticed his curled smile. Her face got an expression, which people put on when being had. "You got me again, didn't you?"

He nodded and sipped once more of his cup.

"You sure play a funny game," Vrilas finally said. "Perhaps I should join it some day."

"You're more than welcome to take over, Vrilas," Shiala smirked.

Vrilas grinned. "Thanks for the offer, but I think I'll pass on that one." He gestured to Jahita, "Hey, be a gentlebeing and give Shiala a cup so I can give her some of her home-world's precious drops of ale."

"Acknowledged," Jahita said and opened his drawer, he picked up another cup and handed it to Shiala. Vrilas fetched his flask of Corellian ale and poured some of it into it.

"Let's propose a toast," Vrilas said and rose. Jahita stood up as well. The three Jedi formed a circle. "To new friendships," Vrilas proclaimed and lifted his cup.

Jahita and Shiala followed suit. "To new friendships," they said in unison.

Three cups were lightly thudded together before three Jedi emptied them. The joy, Jahita felt of getting to know these fine people, multiplied by the Force, which penetrates, surrounds and binds all things together in the galaxy – and friendships as well.

* * *

Vrilas K'tor, Eyoul Gaad and Shiala Meno stood beside the Z-95 Headhunter. They were waiting for Jahita Krass to arrive. Today they were going to try working in unison with the Force, which had been a topic among the students at the Jedi Academy. The Solo siblings, who had successfully navigated through a very dangerous asteroid-field near Dubrillion in order to lure some Yuuzhan Vong fighters to their doom, had caused these intrigued conversations about this interesting option. They had used the Force to connect with each other and had functioned as a single body. This had of course caused much speculation among the other students, who were eager to try it. Shiala, Eyoul and Vrilas were no exception. They invited Jahita out of politeness, albeit they did not tell this to the Coruscanti lad.

"Shiala, may I ask you something?" Vrilas said, tired of the waiting.

"Sure, get it of your troubled mind," Shiala said with a hint of smile.

"Any particular reason we're bringing him along?" He paused.

Shiala turned her eyes towards him. Her face had a hint of concern. "What do you mean?"

"Well, he's an oddball," he said and brushed his hair into place. "I heard about what happened last night, but he acted like nothing had happened."

Eyoul nodded. "Yes, I know what you mean." He sighed and looked at the top of the Great Temple. "From what I have observed that's how he handles stuff he doesn't like. He ignores his problems in the presence of others, acts as if nothing has happened, but beneath his joking appearance, he's suffering. I can feel it, but I don't know how to help him." His gaze lowered to ground level. "I wish I knew what to do. A being in pain should be helped no matter what."

"Hmm," Vrilas said and turned to look at the old star fighter. "You sure haven't changed, Eyoul." He smiled to the Bith Jedi. "A good quality you have – always helping people."

"As is proper," Eyoul added.

"Well, all that notwithstanding, Krass's a nice guy," Shiala said and eyed Vrilas. "Despite him being an _oddball_."

He returned her gaze. "Okay, I'll grant you that."

Shiala said nothing and looked away.

Vrilas sighed. "Where is that guy? This heat is killing me."

"I don't know. He said something about talking to Master Solusar, but that's all he told me." She smiled. "And he told me he wouldn't be long."

Vrilas chuckled. "So much for being here on time, huh?"

Shiala grinned. "And men say women always take _their_ time." She suddenly noticed a figure coming running out of one of the temples nearby. It was easy to recognise him as Jahita. He had a particular way of running. "There he is."

"Finally," Vrilas said glad.

"Hi!" Jahita said and panted. "Sorry I'm late."

"It's okay," Vrilas said. "We haven't melted yet anyway." He smiled.

"You're a fast learner," Jahita said and grinned.

"So, what were you and Master Solusar talking about, then?" Shiala asked.

"Uhm, nothing in particular. Just something about what happened last night." He walked over to the Headhunter. "Now shall we try it out, guys?"

Shiala smiled at Jahita and discretely elbowed Vrilas, who rolling with his eyes. "What say you, guys? Are you ready?"

"Sure thing. That's what we came for anyway," Vrilas said and caressed his side. He turned towards the Z-95 and stretched his arms in front of him as if preparing them for the task they would undertake, even though they would not use their physical strength at all. The others formed a circle around the ship and did likewise.

"Okay, the main thing is not to lose our concentration. If one of us falters, we may well all panic and drop the zee-ninety-five, which in my case isn't an option," Shiala said in all sincerity and added "or in yours, if you understand me. I don't wanna tell my dad that I accidentally trashed the ship before I ever flew it." She exchanged looks with the guys. "Of course, I could blame you for it, if necessary." She gave a curled smile and again looked at each of them in turn. "Got it?"

All of them nodded sincerely.

"Aye," came the reply from the Coruscanti boy.

"Understood," the spacer said.

"Of course," Eyoul said sincerely.

"Excellent," Shiala said. "Remember what they taught us: Size matters not."

* * *

The four Jedi stood concentrated around the Z-95. They closed their eyes and began bonding through the Force. Jahita immediately felt the familiar feeling of the Force filling him up inside. Sheer joy coursed through his entire body. The feeling he experienced by the flow of the living Force was almost overwhelming, but even though he was quite occupied by this, he managed to focus on his objective: to lift up the Headhunter. He reached out with his feelings and immediately felt how he joined with Eyoul, Vrilas and Shiala. Their presence in the Force made him see sparkling light where they stood. Through his Force-vision, he could see the features of the star fighter. The cloud of light was as usual present. It penetrated and surrounded the machinery. Jahita knew that their task of levitating the star fighter was possible, no matter size, weight, or anything else, which was humanly impossible. _Size matters not._ He could sense that the others stretched out and touched the ship with the Force. Their thoughts were fixed upon it. Jahita saw how the Force started to lift the old fighter up from the ground.

The feeling of unison made Jahita feel stronger than ever before. He could remember Tionne telling about how the Jedi of old joined forces to combat evil and conquering it together with the Light Side, with the Force as their friend and ally. He could remember how Master Solusar had told him about the great Jedi Master Yoda, who had instructed Luke Skywalker and taught him many valuable things.

'_For my ally is the Force, and a powerful ally it is. Life creates it, makes it grow. Its energy surrounds us and binds us. Luminous beings are we, not this crude matter. You must feel the Force around you, here, between you, me, the tree, the rock, everywhere. Yes, even between the land and the ship._'

He could remember it all. _Yes, I'm a luminous being. I'm a Jedi. My ally is the living Force; with it, I shall conquer all evil – even the destroyers of life_…

Jahita suddenly felt that his grip on the Headhunter was loosening – he had been too occupied by his speculation that the Headhunter was slipping away from him. He could feel the nervousness that came from Shiala as she noticed his loosening grip – it felt like a spike. From Eyoul and Vrilas he could only sense determination and resolve.

Sensing this, he made up his mind not to fail his new friends – his grip tightened. Quickly Jahita reassumed his concentration and strengthened his grip on the Headhunter, as well – at the same time he sent thoughts of peace towards Shiala and assured her in this way that he would not let go. He let out a sigh of relief as he could feel her invisible grip strengthening, too. Without further ado, the trio levitated the Headhunter into the hangar bay and let it land slowly and securely.

A sudden applause drew the five Jedi out of their concentration. Many students had watched their effort in lifting the Z-95 up and safely put it into the hangar next to the _Corellian Sparrow_. A sudden feeling of pride entered Jahita, but he pushed it aside. _The accomplishment itself is our reward_._ Besides, I couldn't have done it without the others_. Tionne suddenly stepped forward from the assembly.

"Well done. I'm so proud of you all. You did well in demonstrating how the Force can work through us when we act as a body in total unison."

Shiala sighed – apparently, she had the feeling of having failed.

The white-haired Jedi turned her head towards her. "Shiala, you did well, too."

"What?" Shiala had surprised look on her face. "What do you mean?"

"You didn't falter when you felt the confidence of your friends in you. Instead of letting go, you reassumed your tight grip on the plane and managed to keep it up." Tionne smiled. "Though you may think that you failed, you didn't. Your Headhunter has been landed safely in the hangar bay. No one helped you out. You five performed it yourselves."

Shiala began to smile. "Thanks, Tionne," she said and hugged her. The two women laughed cheerfully.

Vrilas came to them and patted Shiala on the shoulders. "Say, we sure did it, didn't we?"

"Indeed," Eyoul said.

"Aye," Jahita said and smiled widely.

Shiala laughed. "We sure did! The four of us! With no help at all!" She clasped her hands together.

"All right!" Vrilas said and laid his arms around the necks of Shiala and Eyoul. He whispered to the three of them, "Say, shouldn't we celebrate this with a few more drops of my Corellian ale?"

"Isn't it your last bottle?" Jahita asked.

"Yeah, but it's a good way of celebrating, wouldn't you say?" Vrilas chuckled.

"I'm all go," Shiala boomed.

"I may not drink, nonetheless I shall accompany you," Eyoul clarified.

"Well, let's celebrate, then!" Shiala gestured towards the temple, where they had their rooms.

"Okay, we will. Come on, fellas." Vrilas gave Jahita a gentle smack on the back as he started walking and the others followed suit.

With Vrilas leading the way, the four Jedi went laughing and happy about their successful task towards the temple.

It was time for celebration.


	6. Chapter Five: There is no Passion?

**Chapter Five**

**_There is no Passion?_**

As the first rays of light penetrated the branches outside Jahita's window and shone upon his face he began to wake up. He yawned and stretched his entire body as he got up from his bed. He would have preferred to stay in the warm bed, but duty called – if he could put it that way. He scratched his back and yawned a second time. _Och, perhaps I got a little too much of the Corellian ale last night._ He hoped that it would not affect him for the rest of the day, but he admitted to himself that he would not be surprised if it would. He smiled. They sure had a nice time together last night, though. The quartet of Jedi had gone up on the roof of one of the temples and spent a great deal of time up there telling stories, as well as drinking what was left of Vrilas K'tor's bottle of ale. It was quite a task emptying the bottle with which Eyoul Gaad had been the only one not to drink from.

Jahita put one hand to his head. _Okay, it doesn't hurt. That's a good thing, but it sure feels as if I'm walking on a jelly floor._ He shook his head, trying to clear it. _Perhaps a good meal and a lot of water would help._ He began to put his clothes on. He sat down on one of the two chairs and noticed the purple gem, which was lying on the table.

_No, Jahita, I don't think it's a good idea for you to build a lightsabre at this point. You have only just begun your training to become a Jedi,_ the words of Master Solusar echoed through his mind. He had been talking to the Jedi Master and asked him to teach him how to build a lightsabre. This was before he, Shiala, Eyoul and Vrilas had levitated the Z-95 into the hangar bay. For one reason or another, he had gotten the urge to build one of these ancient weapons, which had been the favoured weapon of the Jedi Knights. This urge, no, this passion had slowly crept upon him ever since he had found this little purple gem, which he saw come flying from the sky. Jahita chuckled. It sounded just like an extract from some ancient legend.

_Why can't I build one? Why do I have to wait?_ he asked mentally. _There is no passion; there is serenity_, the Jedi teaching answered. He let out an almost silent outcry of anger. _For some unknown reason I've grown impatient_. He halted his thoughts. _No, not unknown._ If he said that, he would be lying to himself. He wanted to avenge all the people he had seen murdered and butchered in his dreams. Then perhaps their spirits would find rest. As would he – _and the girl_.

His thoughts were interrupted as his belly made the all too familiar sound when it wanted to be filled. "All right, all right, I'm going. Don't make a fuzz," he said as a smile appeared on his face._ I'm really far out now – talking to my stomach and all._ He chuckled and left the room.

After having knocked on the door of Eyoul Gaad's room and waiting for the Bith to come out, the two of them went to Vrilas' room – and after having knocked a dozen times, a tired and apparently exhausted man appeared in the door with his blond hair all around.

"Oi, mate, what did you do all night? Get thrown around by a gundark who held in your hair, or what?" Jahita grinned.

"You wish, kiddo," Vrilas grunted cheerfully.

"Well, I know how you feel," a voice said and yawned. It was Shiala Meno, who had popped up from around a corner.

"Hey, get away, you epidemic-carrier, your yawning is hazardous to all of us. Just look at poor Vrilas, you've already given him the illness. Oh, no, me too!" Jahita said and yawned, but barely managed to keep his mask.

"You wish, Hutt butt," Shiala giggled tired and slapped him lightly on the shoulder.

"I'll be right out," Vrilas said and stretched his muscles. "You just go ahead without me. If I'm not out in five minutes, consider me unconscious."

"As you wish, o man with hair all over his head as if it had been pulled by a gundark," Jahita boomed in a manner known for 'extra-polite' diplomats.

Vrilas chuckled sleepily and closed the slide door.

The three of them made their way to the dining hall. After fetching something for breakfast, they sat down by a table and awaited the arrival of Vrilas. Vrilas came just as the five minutes had passed. He put something on a plate and sat tired on the bench next to Shiala. In front of him sat Eyoul and Jahita.

"Remind me of not doing stuff like that again," Vrilas said as he rubbed his eyes.

"What?" Jahita said. "Levitating Headhunters?"

"Or do you mean emptying a bottle of Corellian ale almost by yourself?" Shiala continued.

"The latter," Vrilas said, covering his eyes with his hand. "Man, my head feels like it has been bitten off by a rancor, chewed on and then modelled back into a fashion that resembles my head, and then replaced."

Jahita chuckled. "I couldn't have said it better myself."

"Of course not. You don't have my head on your shoulders," Vrilas said with a smile.

Shiala giggled. "One point to Vrilas K'tor. So sorry, Jahita. If it continues this way, it'll be your head next time."

Jahita gave her a hurt look. "I thought you liked my head."

"Sure I do," Shiala quickly said. "I'm just not a rancor."

Jahita turned his eyes towards Eyoul and placed a hand on the Bith's shoulder, whispering in a very desperate manner, "What did I do to deserve this?"

"Uh huh, that's nice. Now would you please start eating before I stuff you with that ration-bar and feed you to a bantha?" Vrilas said and started to eat.

"Acknowledged," came the reply.

They began to eat.

* * *

"Why do you have to leave now?" Jahita said loudly. "Heck, you two are my best teachers, Master. Why must you head off to Coruscant right now?" 

Kam Solusar sighed. "Listen, Krass, I won't lie to you. The Yuuzhan Vong are threatening the worlds of Agamar, Garqi and Dathomir. If they succeed in taking them, then Yavin Four is sure to be next on their menu."

"Then why the Ffib are you supposed to go to Coruscant? That's in the Core Worlds, not here in the Outer Rim where the threat is. Besides, haven't you made an illusion that protects the Academy?"

"I know that, Krass, but Luke – Master Skywalker asked us to come to Coruscant for a Jedi meeting."

"Then why shouldn't I go, too, then?" Jahita snarled.

"Because you're not a Jedi Knight yet, Krass, that's why," Kam replied calm.

"Well, I should be! I've been here for over a month now and I've learned a lot, and…"

The Jedi Master cut him off. "Patience, Krass! Patience!" He sighed heavily. "It doesn't take a month to become a Jedi Knight; it takes a heck of a lot of time. One basic thing a Jedi must learn is patience." He looked firmly at Jahita. "You used to be patient. I even noticed in the beginning of your training that you were holding yourself back from advancing too fast. What happened to you? What changed you? What took away your patience?"

Jahita looked the Jedi Master straight in the eyes. "The death of a girl and other people I've never known, killed by some foul beasts I've never seen, and for what? Just because she was in the way? Because they all were on the wrong side?" His breathing started to accelerate. "Why!" he yelled.

"I don't know, Krass!" Kam shouted. "You're not helping yourself or her for that matter! Be patient! Impatience is of the Dark Side!"

Jahita bit his lower lip. Anger swelled through him. He felt betrayed. Abandoned. "Why can't I just build a lightsabre and join the fight, then? Wouldn't it be great to have an extra warrior in your Order?" The volume of his voice had lowered.

"The Jedi aren't warriors; they are peace-makers, guardians," Kam said and sat down in his chair.

Jahita plumped into the chair that was behind him. Thousands of things went through his mind. He felt helpless, desperate. He wanted to do something. Just about anything. "What good will it do now, Master? You've already said that some planets have fallen into enemy hands. What good will peace-makers do now?"

Kam was not upset by the angry words of the young student. "Now you're sounding like Kyp Durron, Krass," he said calmly.

"Sithspit!" he snarled angry. "I don't want to hear that granitslug's name again!" An angry sound escaped Jahita's lungs as he rose and walked in circles. "I'm just so frustrated, Master. I feel like I'm not getting anywhere. I mean – uh…" He paused. "I've had a great time here, learning how to use the Force, making friends and stuff, but I want to make a difference." His breathing slowed down slightly. "I want to make a difference now."

Kam nodded and rose up from his chair. He walked over to Jahita, who had finally stopped his circling, and placed a hand on his shoulder. "I know, Krass, but the way you act has proven that you're not ready for such things yet."

The words '_not ready_' rang in Jahita's ears and they had a bitter taste. "Emperor's black bones," he said and again plumped into the chair. His expression signalled a balance between despair and defeat. "What good am I when I can't help with anything?"

"Are you not helping your friends, Krass? Have you forgotten about them?" Kam said as he crouched beside him.

"I don't know – I – I don't know much about fixing old Headhunters, less about modifying them. I feel so useless, like I'm insignificant." He felt a lump in his throat. "Totally useless."

"Krass, don't give in to despair and depression. You're much more valuable than that."

Jahita looked at his Master. "How come?"

"Haven't you wondered why you are Force-sensitive?" Kam said calmly.

"Och, aye, of course I have."

Kam folded his arms. "And your opinion on the matter is?"

"I figured it had to be the…the will of the Force."

"Then why do you feel invaluable? Just because you can't go out and fight the bad guys?"

The last remark touched something within Jahita. He could remember when he first arrived at the Jedi Academy, how he and all the other students were gathered at the Grand Audience Chamber for an announcement. After Master Skywalker had talked a little, a kid had said, "_We can be out fighting the bad guys._" He remembered the others laughing or just smiling at the comment, as was Master Skywalker. He did not get it then, but now he had the same wish. He really wanted to go out there and fight the bad guys. Alas, he was not ready according to the man, whom he trusted so sincerely.

"Krass?"

"Oh, sorry, Master Solusar, I just lost my – my concentration." He coughed.

"And my question?"

"Huh?"

Kam sighed lightly and smiled. "You didn't answer my question. Why do you feel invaluable?"

Jahita looked at him and then turned his gaze towards the floor. "Because I felt that I'd done nothing of value."

"So, you're forgetting about your first test when you levitated a cup and landed it into your hand?"

"Uh, I…"

Kam did not wait for Jahita's answer and continued, "Or what about when you went to Tionne for a history lesson and recited all the lyrics of a song, even though you'd only heard them once?"

"Uhm…"

"Or what about when you, Shiala Meno, Eyoul Gaad and Vrilas K'tor lifted Shiala's Headhunter and placed it into the hangar bay?"

Jahita did not say anything. He knew there was more.

"What about our little trip into the jungle where you managed to make some piranha-bees believe that it was going to rain, thus dispersing them and ignore us? Surely you can't have forgotten about that, have you?" Kam smiled.

Jahita kept his silence, but could not resist the urge to smile, if not a little.

"And what about the test I gave you by letting Gaad ask you what you would say if I'd asked you to build a lightsabre?" Kam looked straight into his eyes.

But Jahita did not reply. He had lost his speech, but he finally understood. He bowed his head. "I understand, Master," he whispered.

"I'm glad you do, Jahita," Kam said and padded him on the shoulder. "I knew you would, because you've got some insight that I wish some other people had." His face made a slightly sad expression. He turned towards the table and walked over to it. After picking something up and placing it into his backpack, he turned towards Jahita again. "Don't worry, we'll be back."

Jahita nodded. "I know you will" – _I can feel it._ He smiled again.

"Besides, Tionne will stay here for another day or two, possibly more, so that you won't be so alone just yet." The Jedi Master shook Jahita's hand briefly. "Farewell, Jahita Krass. May the Force be with you."

"And with you, Master Solusar, and with you."

* * *

Jahita stood on top of the Great Temple and watched Kam Solusar fly away in his shuttle en route to Coruscant, the capital of the New Republic and Jahita's homeworld. He already missed his tutor – and even though they had had a talk about Jahita's wish to build a lightsabre and Kam tried to persuade him to wait, he still wanted to build one. _But where do I get such information? I could ask Eyoul, perhaps even Shiala or Vrilas, but they'd probably try to talk me out of it._ He sighed heavily and looked around him. Everywhere there was jungle and a few temples sticking out of the green horizon. _Temples._ He suddenly noticed the lone temple quite far from the Academy. It was the same one he had seen when he and his class had been on a trip into the jungle. Again, he felt drawn to it in some mystical way. He felt an urge to go there and explore it. The young Jedi stood for a moment pondering on what to do. _Should I go? Should I ignore it and stay?_

He made his decision and jumped down from the roof. He slowed his descent using the Force, stopping only a brief moment on each _step_ of the large ziggurat before landing securely at the base of it. He tapped on the Force and jumped onto one of the trees nearby. He continued from one branch to the other, from one tree to the other. _Just like Master Skywalker's morning exercises_, he mused.

* * *

_How long have I wandered? Hmm, must have been nearly an hour or so_, he thought as he halted on top of a tree. The only thing he knew for sure was that his muscles were tired of jumping. He decided to descend to ground level and continue on foot. Occasionally he jumped up into one of the trees to check if he was on course. From time to time, he ran into some animals, but always managed to make them ignore him or chase them off with the aid of the Force. 

_Ffib, it's hot!_ He panted and stopped for a while. _Why, o why didn't I bring some water with me? Perhaps this was all a mistake._ He then noticed that the top of the lone ziggurat towered above the tree line. He felt the curiosity return and started to walk again. _Well, I made it so far. Wouldn't hurt checking it._

After a few metres, he reached a clearing and finally got a close look of the ziggurat. It was a ruin. The temple was almost totally destroyed by either time or something that had bombarded it. Upon closer inspection, it seemed to him that it had taken some hits from a turbolaser or something of that magnitude. Details of history appeared in his mind. _This is another of the temples, which Exar Kun built, or something like that._ He remembered that Kyp Durron had met the spirit of the Dark Lord in one of these. Nevertheless, even though the Dark Lord of the Sith was gone for good, Jahita felt certain that the place had a taint of evil still lurking around. He went closer to the rubble of the ziggurat. Even though it had been blown up, it still had some features of a ziggurat, which could fool anyone to think that it was whole.

After looking more closely, Jahita noticed an opening between the broken walls. He was glad to find out that he had brought a portable glowlamp with him, so he ventured in through the gap and looked around. It was dark and filled with moisture. Small ponds were almost everywhere and it was cold, so cold. Jahita pulled the zipper all the way up to his throat, but even that did not help. Some markings on a wall caught his attention. Upon closer inspection, he saw that the markings were some kind of hieroglyphs, but he could not read them. He searched his pockets for the translator-module he had used so often at home in Coruscant. He had forgotten it in his room.

Anger filled him and smacked his hands on the walls. "Sithspit!" he cried out. It was then he noticed that some pictures accompanied the hieroglyphs – depictions of warriors holding fiery blades. _Lightsabres._

"And I just had to forget my translator-module." He again smacked the wall and sighed angrily. He looked at the wall again – he suddenly understood something of it. The hieroglyphs seemed to shine with a dark blue colour and unfold themselves into understandable words.

"What the Ffib…?" he said in surprise. Then his curiosity took over and he began to read.

* * *

Vrilas was torn out of his nap as someone knocked on his door continuously. He rubbed his eyes. The knocking continued relentlessly. 

"Hey, don't knock your hands through the door!" he said irritated. "I'm coming!" He opened the door. "Oh, hi, Eyoul. What do you want?" He then noticed that Eyoul's face had a worried expression – a very worried expression. "What's the matter?"

"Have you seen Jahita?" he said and looked into the room, as if hoping that he was in there.

"Uh, no, not since Master Solusar left." He paused. "Have you looked in the library?" Eyoul entered and walked in circles in the room. Vrilas closed the slide door. "Okay," he said, "I guess he isn't there, either."

"No, he isn't there. He's not in his room; not in the Grand Audience Chamber; not in the dining hall. I've even looked for him on the roofs of the temples. I can't feel his presence here at the Academy."

"Don't worry; he probably went for a walk in the jungle or something like that." He placed a hand on Eyoul's shoulder and gestured him to sit down. "He's a big boy; he can take care of himself."

"It's not that, Vrilas," he said with a nervous tone in his voice. "There's something wrong. I can feel it. There's something bad going on and I know it involves Jahita."

"Okay, hold it, hold it." Vrilas pulled a chair sat down in front of him. "Listen, I have barely begun to know Jahita, but when I make friends I tend to stick to the friendships I've made. Especially after having some drinks with them." He caressed his forehead a little, remembering his hangover. "Don't you worry; I'll help you look for him, okay?"

Eyoul nodded. "Thank you, Vrilas."

"Now, please relax. You're making me nervous acting like this. You always seem that calm, you know. Seeing you like this, heck, it's close to scaring me," Vrilas grinned.

Eyoul could not help letting out a chuckle. "In that case, I trust you know what you're talking about." He suddenly paused. His eyes seemed to stare at something, but Vrilas was not able to pinpoint the location. A smile erupted on his face. "I can sense him," he said slowly. "He's back from wherever he's been." He rose and left the room.

"You're welcome," he said and leaned back in the chair.

"Won't you be coming?" Eyoul's head popped into the room.

Vrilas almost jumped up by surprise. "Emperor's black bones! Don't ever do that again!" he shouted and felt how his heart was pounding fast.

"My apologies," Eyoul said, hinting a faint smile. "Come now, Vrilas."

"Okay, okay! I'm coming!" He rose. "Barving lunatic," he mumbled as he grabbed his jacket, went out, closed the door and hurried down the corridor in an effort to catch up with the Bith.

As soon as they got outside they met Jahita, who was all sweaty and a little bruised from occasional branches he had run into, but he did not look like he was hurt or anything.

"Where've you been, kiddo?" Vrilas asked.

"Uhm, just a walk in the jungles. I – uhm – just wanted to be alone for a little while. That's all." He smiled.

"Well, you could have told us," Eyoul said and patted Jahita on the shoulder. "Braving the jungle can be rather hazardous.

Vrilas nodded. "Sure is."

"If I did tell you, would you have let me go all alone?" Jahita said with a grin.

"That depends," Vrials said and smiled.

"On what?"

"How good you are at persuading us." He chuckled.

"Riiight," Jahita simply replied, but in a funny manner. "However, I don't have any Corellian ale, or whiskey, for that matter."

"I sure hate to interrupt you guys, but since you're all here now, why don't we use our spare time in working some more on the Headhunter?"a familiar voice uttered behind them. It was Shiala, dressed in a work jumpsuit with grease spots scattered across it. In her hand she held some sort of tool. "If it's not too much trouble?" she added, smirking.

"No, no, not at all, but if you wouldn't mind, I would appreciate if I just could clean myself a little bit before I get all greasy," Jahita said and moved slowly towards the entrance.

"Okay, but hurry, all right?" Shiala said and started to walk backwards to the hangar bay.

"You won't even notice that I'm gone," Jahita replied and started to run into the temple.

Vrilas turned towards the hangar bay and walked up beside Eyoul as they followed Shiala. "See, there was nothing to worry about." He clasped his hands together and rubbed them a bit. "Now, let's fix us a Headhunter."

Eyoul smiled as only a Bith can, but it was a false one. Deep inside of him, something told him that not everything was all right. He could sense something – _a sense of wrongness_. He could feel it. It seemed to come from Jahita. _But what is the cause of it?_ he thought.

* * *

The cold of the night did not bother Jahita, as he sneaked down the corridors of the temple, which contained the library wherein there were stored many valuable books and other scriptures concerning the Jedi Order – including instructions on how to build a lightsabre. This Jahita knew after having tried to look through many of the books on the occasions he was there for a history lesson. He had managed to keep his concentration, though the ever-pressing hunger for building a lightsabre often popped up in his mind. And now with Kam Solusar in Coruscant for some Jedi meeting, Tionne had taken over Kam's class. He did love those hours of hearing and learning the story of the Order, though – he was still the youth, who was a bookworm. When looking through the books there, he had stumbled upon this particular book, which explained in details how the lightsabre could be built. 

_Hadn't it been for Shiala, I wouldn't understand half of it._ He smiled for himself. _Finally, I can get to work._ He took forth a special datapad of his, which contained a camera. With it, he took a picture of every page – he did not want to risk being caught with the book in his room. The idea of seeing Tionne hurt would be too much for him. Actually, he now tried to avoid hurting anybody. The image of the dying people in his nightmare still affected him – especially the girl.

A sudden commotion nearby alerted him of the presence of someone coming into the library. _Sithspawn!_ Luckily he remembered what he had learned in class – how to quiet your mind and make yourself invisible in the Force. He inhaled deeply and let the air come out very slowly. Not a sound escaped him. He was totally still.

A figure walked over to a table and turned on a glowlamp, but did not notice Jahita, who was hiding behind a shelf filled with books. He risked a glance and recognised the person to be Tionne. _Perhaps she has felt my presence here._ He swallowed hard and felt sweat appearing on his forehead, but Tionne only fetched a book, turned off the glowlamp and left the room. Jahita sighed in relief, but maintained his concentration. He reached out with the Force and felt Tionne's presence moving further and further away.

_She didn't notice me. Good. Now back to business._ He used the datapad to take another picture and a second one. He had gotten what he came for. A smile went across his face. Now he only needed to find the components. _That won't be hard, but I had better do it tonight, while I'm at it._ He walked out of the library and down the hall, while looking at the information gathered in his datapad. _Hmm, let's first get a power source. I'll bet something is at the hangar._ He suppressed a chuckle. _Almost too easy._ He shook his head. _No! Never underestimate anything! Anyone could pop up at anytime. I have to be careful._

He made his way to the hangar bay and picked up the necessary components. They were all there – it was easy enough. _Now for a metal cylinder large enough for this stuff._ He decided to visit his shuttle. _Perhaps I'll find something there._ He turned around to find it. It was in the hangar somewhere, for sure. Since the entire hangar bay was very dark and he was only equipped with a small portable glowlamp, it was not easy finding the darn thing, but the Force helped him, though.

He turned on the lights inside the small spaceship and started to look around for a metal cylinder, which could be useful. _If only I could find anything in this piece of junk!_ He snarled angrily and occasionally smacked a hand into the floor, which he crawled on, trying to see if anything useful was underneath the control panels. _Sithspit! Nothing_…

He rose and smacked his head into the pilot-seat, which he had not noticed. "BY THE FFIB!" he cried out and hauled the chair up from its place, though it had been securely bolted into place several years ago. The chair was thrown down on the floor again. He breathed heavily and looked puzzled at the chair._ I just pulled a chair up from the deck, with bolts and everything._ He looked at his hands. _Wow!_

He then noticed that the chair had several small pipes, which were at the base. They were actually a kind of cylinders. Jahita smiled. _That'll do nicely._ He crouched and pulled one of the cylinders loose – violently. _Just the right size_. _Excellent. Now I can get down to business._ He grinned almost silently and walked out of the shuttle.

After making his way to his room and sitting down by the table. He tapped on the Force and started the delicate 'operation'. All the tools had been acquired before he went for the instructions and the components. He managed to open the cylinder with an adamant-cutter – a very delicate cutting tool, which he had inherited from his father. What his father had used it for, he did not know. Actually, now he did not bother wondering – he was too busy in making it right. He sure as heck did not want to go down to his shuttle again and pick another of these metal pipes. The cylinder was held firmly in place as he carefully cut through its metal body. A nice long square was removed, but not thrown away – it would serve as a lid.

However, he would still need to open the whole thing to put all the components into place. The lid would serve as a doorway to the precious purple gem, if a new gem ever should replace it. Jahita hoped that it would not be the case in the future, but he still loved to look at the beautiful stone, which he had had in his pocket every single day since he found it. The procedures were slow, but rewarding. He finally managed to figure out how to get his power source in place. _Luckily, the cylinder doesn't lack space_. He dried the sweat off his brow. Now came the most difficult part, which would crave his uttermost concentration. He should put the purple gem into place.

_All right, my beauty, now I'll put you in to your permanent lair._ He opened himself to the Force and drew strongly upon it. The Force flowed into him like a raging sea – a sea that could smash anything in its wake. Power of unseen heights filled him up. He almost felt one with the universe – and though this sense of omnipresence filled him, he managed to keep his concentration on the task of placing the gem into the correct alignment. This would ensure that the energy blade would not detonate an explosion, which could be fatal in the worst cases. He closed his eyes and looked with the eyes of the Force. What he saw, he could not explain. He had never seen anything like it. Several images flashed before his eyes, which meant nothing to him, though he occasionally recognised himself and saw flashes of Eyoul, Shiala and Vrilas, as well as Kam Solusar and Master Skywalker. He tried to ignore them, but he felt a voice crying within him, as if warning him of impending doom or something terrible.

He snarled angrily and forced himself to focus on his objective. The gem slowly descended into its chosen resting place. He quickly found the correct alignment and put on the lid after having fastened the gem securely. A lock had already been made, so that the lid would not leave its position.

Jahita rose from his chair. He dried the sweat off his face and prepared for the final test. His right thumb went slowly down the hilt, which he had covered with leather, taken from the pilot seat in his shuttle, which had been so violently ripped up from the deck. He heard the button make an almost silent sound of being turned on.

_Snap hiss!_ A bright purple energy blade came to life. Its middle was light while the surrounding and dominant colour was purple, while a thin white stripe made the borders of the energy blade. It gave the room a pleasant purple colour as Jahita turned off the glowlamp.

_Finally!_ He was filled with pride and great expectation. _Now for the next step_…

He suddenly began to tremble all over his body. _Sithspit! I'd forgotten about what happened the last time I let the Force flow so strongly through me._ Jahita quickly turned off his newly constructed lightsabre and hid it in one of the drawers. He staggered towards his bed and plummeted into it. The tiredness of having the Force completely filling him up was almost unbearable. After a few puny attempts to cover himself with his blanket, he gave in to the tiredness and fell into a mixture of dreams and nightmares, which all seemed to try and warn him of something, but they were too far fetched and too strange that he could not interpret them. He only knew that something was to happen in the near future, but an answer for what was to come eluded him.


	7. Chapter Six: Art of the Lightsabre

**Chapter Six**

**_Art of the Lightsabre_**

Jahita Krass and the others in his class, of which he knew practically no one, were standing in the one of the many training rooms, which could be found at the Jedi Academy. There they were practicing in how to produce small waves in the Force, which could push objects where they wanted them. It was too easy for Jahita. He would usually be overjoyed when he would succeed in something, but now that Master Solusar had gone, things had changed. The only person who had noticed this was Eyoul Gaad, but he could not pinpoint the cause. _Luckily for me_, thought Jahita. He had felt how his Bith friend had sometimes tried to sense his thoughts_. He wouldn't understand. No one would._ Jahita was irritated by these petty tests. He wanted something more challenging, not moving rocks. He wanted to fight, to use his new lightsabre and strike down the mysterious invaders. _Not moving stupid rocks!_

"Hey, guys!" a voice echoed in the room. "Guess what Tionne just told me?" One of the students came running over to a group near Jahita in the training chamber with a very big smile.

"No, what?" some human said as he turned around.

"Aye, what?" Jahita said, being glad for an opportunity to ignore the rocks for once.

"Tionne just said to me that she'll allow me to build my own lightsabre!" the person, whose species Jahita recognised to be a Quarren, boomed excited.

"Great," the human said and patted the Quarren on the shoulder. "Hope we can practice against each other. Fighting friends ought to be funnier, if you catch my drift." They laughed – everyone but Jahita.

Envy coursed through Jahita. _Sithspawn! Tionne allows that one to build one – and he's been here just a little more than I!_

The Quarren turned towards him. "Oh, by the way, Tionne wants to speak to you, Jahita. She's at the library."

Jahita coughed once. "Oookay. Right now or…?"

"Yeah, now, if you like."

"All right, see you in a while, then." Jahita walked over to the door. As he passed the Quarren, he patted him on the arm. "Congratulations."

"Thanks. I almost can't wait." The Quarren took hold of his hand and gave it a squeeze.

Jahita smiled and then walked out the door. Despite his anger, he could not stay mad at the others in his class. It was not them he was angry at.

After walking down some corridors, he arrived at the library. Before entering, he felt a little nervous. _What if she did notice me last night?_ He swallowed once and opened the door. Between the shelves, he could see the white-haired Jedi historian looking through some books. As she heard him approaching, she looked up and smiled.

"Hello, Krass."

"Hi," he simply said and walked over to her.

"I trust you've heard about my decision about letting Tonfiya Bardonnon build his very first lightsabre?"

"Who?" Jahita asked.

Tionne arched an eyebrow. "Bardonnon. The Quarren in your class."

"Ah, right." He nodded.

"But before he goes that far, he'll need some training in how to handle such a delicate weapon."

"And…?"

"Your friend Gaad has one." Tionne put a book on a shelf and took out another one. She began to look through it.

"What's that got to do with me?" Jahita was beginning to wonder if the white-haired historian was not acting a little weird.

"Well, since I know how badly you wish to build one, and how your fellow classmates desire the same, I have decided you all could train with Gaad and me in how to handle one."

Jahita could not believe his ears. "What?"

"I'm not saying that you will build one soon, but I find it productive that you learned about the responsibilities that follow with this weapon." She looked up from the book. "There are many dangers, which follow as well."

"So you're saying that I'll…er, I mean we'll be getting some training even though we're not going to build our own just yet?"

Tionne smiled. "Am I that hard to understand?"

Jahita chuckled. "Thanks a lot, Tionne!" He hugged her and lifted her up from the floor.

"Whoa! Careful now, all right?" she grinned.

"You won't regret this, I promise you that!" He put her down and ran towards the door. After reaching it, he stopped and turned his head. "Oh, by the way, was there something else you wanted to talk about?"

"Only that this will be one of the final lessons before I leave for Coruscant. Just so that you know."

Jahita sighed slightly. "I understand." He looked down at the floor for a moment. "Anything else?"

"No, that was it. Just remember to tell your class when you get back. You may go." She smiled and nodded once.

"See you later, then, Tionne," he said and left the library.

* * *

Tionne turned her attention towards the book in her hands. It was about the lightsabres and how they were built. She had studied it often. It was used as a guideline by many, while others only wanted the instructions provided by the Masters; but since most of the Jedi Masters had left, Tionne wanted to use this old book, which had been uncovered on Ossus, the ancient planet of the Jedi of old. She closed it and walked over to the desk nearby. _I hope that this will make Jahita understand, why he must wait. Patience is a virtue._ Deep inside she also hoped that by letting Krass tell his class that he might finally begin to interact with the others. Ever since he had joined, he had kept to himself. Only a few senior students, such as Eyoul Gaad, Vrilas K'tor and Shiala Meno had managed to bring out the person inside Krass. However, it was in her opinion that Krass should spend more time learning to know his classmates, which were all roughly at the same level in the mastery of the Force. 

She sat down by the desk and rested for a brief moment. It was a little hard to administrate the Academy with her husband gone. She missed him so much. A warm feeling coursed through her as she thought of seeing him again soon.

* * *

Eyoul Gaad, Jahita Krass and the rest of the class stood in a courtyard behind one of the temples. The weather was hot and damp, but the occasional winds that would pass the yard made the heat bearable. Jahita stood in deep thoughts, wondering how they would train sword fighting, when his classmates did not have a lightsabre and – _officially_ – he did not have one either. He halted his thoughts. He almost could not wait to get back to his room again and feel it in his hands, his lightsabre, his very own! He smiled secretly. _My own lightsabre._ He suppressed a delighted chuckle. _I've made it under their very noses and they don't have a single clue._ He noticed Eyoul's eyes, watching him. _Except for _him He scolded himself in his mind. He wanted to tell Eyoul, but feared his reaction. _What if he told Tionne? I would totally lose everyone's trust. No, I can't disgrace myself for all to see._ His gaze lifted itself to the top of the temple in front of him. _I sure as heck can't tell him about the strange markings in the old ruined temple – he wouldn't understand._

* * *

Though he could not read his thoughts, Eyoul had been ever watchful since Jahita's recent trip into the jungle. He seemed to be so different, even when he joked. The jokes were all the same, but it seemed to him that it was another person, who would tell them to him. It was as if someone had put on Jahita's body and appearance. Eyoul slightly shook her head. _All but speculation. Is there any truth to what I sense?_ His eyes met Jahita's. In his eyes Eyoul could read nervousness, which did not seem to be caused by the upcoming lesson – it was something deeper, something more elusive, something Jahita hid from him. _I can feel it in the core of my very bones. What could be the matter?_ A part of his soul felt so mournful and helpless. _If only I could help him!_ he thought annoyed and covered his speculative look.

* * *

Close by the congregation Vrilas K'tor was viewing the younger students as he sat comfortably on a thick branch, which had once been attached to a tree. He rested in the shadow, did not like the heat. He missed the cold of the space, the stars, and the excitement when he would pass the security of the systems on his many 'travels'. Though he had not told any of his friends, he figured that they had probably suspected what he had been doing before he came to the Academy: Smuggling. Ever since he had been a very young man, he had known precisely how to hide his illegal cargo so well that even Imperial customs-stations had not found the spices or whatever he was smuggling. He had been well taught. _I sure had a bunch of adventures._ He smiled. Despite the recitation of the Jedi Master Yoda's words, which said that Jedi crave not adventures and excitement, he could not get it out of his blood. Sure, there was still the famous tale of Han Solo, who eventually married the Alderaannian Princess Leia Organa after being a general in the Alliance and hero, etc, but that was not he – not Vrilas K'tor. 

But though he had speculated much about leaving the Academy, if not for a while, he had always been interrupted by something. Now it was his new friendship with this weird Coruscanti guy, Jahita Krass. He really liked the _kiddo_, who kept him at bay for the time being. _But that doesn't get the desire out of my head._ He sighed. _What I wouldn't do for just one ride into space in my trusty old ship the _Backspace_. Barv! It has almost been too long._

* * *

Tionne stepped out of the temple and the three Jedi approached her. She was carrying a few long staffs, which had the length of an ignited lightsabre. Leather was wrapped on one end and covered about twenty-five centimetres of the staffs. She placed some of them nearby and kept one for herself. A smile erupted – its mere presence gave the Jedi students a comfortable feeling. 

"Your faces are lit with the Force," she said, quoting from the speech that Master Skywalker had held the day Jahita arrived at the Academy.

"Thank you, Tionne," someone replied. "Yours, as well." Others greeted her similarly.

The white-haired woman's smile grew bigger. "Now I will demonstrate how the lightsabre can be used to perform a dance." She lay down her staff and took forth her lightsabre, which was hanging by her hip. She ignited it – and with a _snap hiss!_ a beautiful silvery blade emerged from the hilt. She gestured to them that they should sit down with a little distance from her. "Observe," she said as her eyes closed.

Tionne held the hilt with two hands so that the silver blade was in front of her face, thus giving it a silvery colour. Slowly, but surely, she let go with her left hand and swung the blade to her right, holding it stretched. Another motion led the blade in a graceful arc above her head, while she pivoted on one heel until it rested peacefully to her left. The different stances were then made faster and more fluently. The movements she made seemed to signal that the energy blade was not an item in her hand, but a part of her arm. The students almost gasped by the totally controlled and yet beautiful movement that moved so gracefully – but this was only the beginning. She then started again moving slowly, but just as gradually, Tionne performed different motions and positions that all signalled guidance by the Force. It was very controlled and precise. Indeed, it looked like a dance.

A shiver ran down Jahita's spine. _So beautiful, yet so deadly._ Despite these thoughts, he still longed for a chance to use his own blade – for the purpose of justice. He watched in awe the white-haired Jedi performing one stance to the other until she stood still as a statue, presenting the blade in a last salute and then killed the energy blade. Jahita could not resist the urge to applause and clasped his hands together. The others quickly followed suit.

Tionne smiled and bowed briefly. "Thank you," she said and put the lightsabre back to its place beside her hip. "Now we will initiate you two in how to hold such a weapon. Eyoul Gaad will help me instructing you. And Vrilas K'tor has also volunteered to aid me in this."

Vrilas did not reply, but only smiled and nodded once to Jahita.

"It's a surprise," Jahita said cheerful and continued, "but a welcomed one."

"Good," Tionne said and picked up the staff, lying beside her feet. "Would you be so kind as to fetch yourselves a staff?"

The students hurried to fetch one, and soon everyone was ready. Under the supervision of Tionne, Eyoul and Vrilas the group was placed so that everyone got a chance to see what Tionne and her helpers would instruct them.

When everyone was ready Tionne held the staff in front of her face. The students did likewise. "Close your eyes and imagine it being a lightsabre. _Feel_ it and imagine it giving the noise, which usually accompanies the energy blade. Imagine the ozone smell in the air. Let the Force flow freely and let go of all thoughts."

The group seemed to have no trouble in following the administrator's commands as they followed her and her helpers' movements despite having their eyes closed. As they trained, they learned of stances for defence and offence, though the offensive stances were not aggressive. To Eyoul and Vrilas, this was only a rehearsal of what they already knew by heart.

"Sometimes a Jedi Knight will have to draw his lightsabre and fight for that which is good. Preferably, the Jedi won't have to kill, but sometimes this action can become necessary. If such a situation occurs, you must be clear of any thought. When you must strike down a being, do so without regret, without remorse, without fear and above all without anger.There is no emotion; there is peace. There is no death; there is only the Force. But remember, a Jedi uses the Force in the wish of doing what is good, not to be an aggressor or conqueror. The Light side is his way, not the darkness of the other side, for _that_ darkness is _very_ dark indeed." Tionne spoke while she performed one movement till the other without halting in her speech. Each student followed her every move and listened at the same time.

Tionne continued. "The Dark Side is more seductive and a very slippery path. Often you will not discover that you've already trodden on it, before it's nearly or already too late." She halted in a stance and stood firm. The Jedi followed suit. "And with the approach of the new enemy, the Dark Side will not be easily quenched. Rather can it more easily draw new servants to its side by feeding upon the anger and hate, which some can generate by loss of family, friends and allies." She released herself from her position and turned towards the students. The look on her face was mixed with concern and compassion, along with sincerity. "But the Dark Side is not more powerful, and in the end it offers only death and total annihilation to its servant. Though some Sith have managed to preserve their spirits, they will succumb at some point, just as Exar Kun." She paused and looked at the top of the temple, which stood in front of her. The rays of light made the ziggurat almost shine.

"A Jedi can come to so great a knowledge of the Force that when he or she dies, will become one with the Force and vanish before the eyes of all."

* * *

The last words Tionne spoke awoke something within Jahita. The Force felt suddenly so near that he felt sure it wanted to tell him something. 

He closed his eyes and opened them only a second later, he suddenly was not on the fourth moon of Yavin anymore – actually, he had no idea where he was.

_What the Ffib? Where am I?_

His surroundings seemed desolate, destroyed droids were lying everywhere, smoke rose from nearby craters and persons wandered among them. Their clothes seemed so old in their fashion that Jahita felt sure he had seen them in some museum or in some old holo regarding ancient history. He noticed that they were holding very delicately made lightsabres.

_Jedi?_

He suddenly noticed a man kneeling beside an elderly man, who was clearly dying. The old man spoke, his voice echoed in Jahita's mind, "_The enemy has found me, Ulic, but the enemy knows only darkness. I know what the enemy does not_… _I know the light._" The old man suddenly disappeared, only his clothes remained.

_Another dream? Another nightmare?_ Jahita tried to close his eyes and then open them again only to find that he still was not on Yavin 4. _What's going on?_

He noticed a woman approaching the man, who still clung to the clothes of the old man. The wind played with her red hair. Her eyes were green, so green, and she was very beautiful. "_Your Master is gone_…_what will you do now, Ulic?_"

Jahita almost jumped up by surprise. _Did she say Ulic? Didn't that old man say Ulic?_ He carefully walked closer. _Can it be? Ulic Qel-Droma?_

"_Nomi_…_I will do what I _said_ I would do. I will _destroy_ the Krath from within._"

"By all that is good in universe!" Jahita said aloud. "That's Nomi Sunrider!" The man and the woman did not hear him. _It's a vision, for sure! What is the Force up to? What does it want to tell me?_

"_But Ulic, my own Master Thon told me that a Jedi who takes up the path of the Dark Side is no longer a Jedi_…" She paused. Ulic was still clinging to the clothes of his dead Master. "_He who learns the Dark way will become infected with darkness. His judgement will become clouded and he will _forget_ the good things he learned. If a Jedi persists in this attempt to bridge between the two divergent roads, he will be _torn apart_ in his very being. Ulic, you are a great Jedi. I believe you will choose the right course. I _know_ you will._"

Jahita stood totally still and listened to their conversation, but the question still lingered in his head. _What does the Force want me to know?_

Ulic finally looked up from the clothes in his hands. Nomi knelt beside him. His expression was filled with sorrow and he had a hint of being hurt by her words. "_How can you know what I'm feeling? Arca saved my life_…_and I let him_ die _If I had been a true Jedi, Arca would still be _alive"

Nomi put her hand on his cheek. Her face was filled with love and worry. "_Please_…_do not underestimate the power of the Dark Side_…_at all costs, **do not underestimate the power of the Dark Side**!_"

Her words rang inside Jahita's head and were repeated again and again. He put his hands to his ears. _What the Ffib?_ _What's going on?What about the Dark Side?_He tried to run away from the two kneeling Jedi who were embracing each other, but his movements were slow and he barely managed to move at all.

"_I will do this for Master Arca_…_for all Jedi Knights_…_and for the good of the Republic! Ulic Qel-Droma will _conquer_ the Dark Side of the Force!_" Ulic said.

Finally, Jahita was released from the invisible grip, but a sentence became repeated and seemed to echo through the entire planet, as well as in his mind. "**_Do not underestimate the power of the Dark Side! Do not underestimate the power of the Dark Side!_**"

Jahita ran and continued to cover his ears. He yelled. "What do you want of me?Why do you let me see this?"

No direct answer was heard, only a repeated, "**_Do not underestimate the power of the Dark Side!_**"

"What is this? What do you want to tell me?" he screamed in panic.

Then darkness engulfed him, and a deep rustic voice echoed a cruel laughter, clearly mocking him.

"STOP IT! LEAVE ME ALONE!" Jahita screamed and fell to the ground. He opened his eyes and saw the startled expressions on Tionne and everyone else around him. _I'm back! Thank the Force!_

"Jahita? What happened?" Tionne said with concern filling her voice.

"Uh…I – I…" His voice flickered, he did not know whether to tell or not. _What if it would reveal everything to Tionne? What if she finds out about me having built a lightsabre?_

"Jahita?" Eyoul knelt beside him and tried to get him up. "Are you okay?"

"Aye," he said and nodded. "I – I'm all right. Just – just a, uh, just the voice, no, a vision. Uh – I – I, ah." He paused. "I just saw something in a vision, but, uhm, for a moment it – it seemed like it wouldn't stop, so…" He halted and tried to figure out what more to say.

Vrilas followed up the question. "And, so…?"

"I panicked. I thought that it wouldn't stop." He let out a chuckle. "Silly of me, I know."

Tionne nodded, but it was almost too clear that she had not accepted his explanation. Despite this, the lesson continued for about an hour.

* * *

_There is no emotion; there is peace. There is no ignorance; there is knowledge. There is no passion; there is serenity. There is no death; there is the Force._ Shiala sat and meditated by her Z-95 Headhunter; she was preparing herself mentally for her. Shiala found it easier fixing and repairing things when filled with the Force. And recently she and her closest friends had spent a lot of time working with her doing this, as had the newest addition to the circle, Jahita Krass. Though a bit odd, and at times almost unbearable when he would come with the most ridiculous jokes and endless blabbing about some long forgotten note in some long forgotten history book, Shiala had to admit that his presence was in some way soothing. There were times when her boyfriend, Tarrik Wend, was somewhat too aloof and more concerned about gaining favour with the Jedi Master, Kyp Durron. Admitted, she did admire Master Durron, but not in the same extent as Tarrik. At times she was in doubt whom to side with when Tarrik and Eyoul Gaad would have their fiery discussions about proper Jedi conduct. 

She sighed and once again inhaled deeply, thus removing yet another obstacle from the flow of the Force.

Her thoughts were led once again to Jahita Krass. Eyoul had told her about how he and his class had been initiated in the ways of the lightsabre by the use of staffs. These were of course only for practice, and had about the same length, making them ideal in learning how to handle that dangerous weapon of a Jedi Knight. A part of her felt uncomfortable about the strange part that Eyoul had told her about – how Jahita had apparently received some vision through the Force, and that it had scared the guts out of him. Nevertheless, Eyoul had said that Jahita had made great progress and was very good in handling the 'lightsabre' in combat, showing remarkable reflexes that one would think did not exist in a _bookworm_. Vrilas, Shiala, Tarrik and Eyoul had fought each other in several rounds both then and recently. A smile went over her face. She herself had adapted quickly in using the staff as a part of her arm, instead of using it as a mere tool. Tionne had spoken highly of her and her skills.

This reminded her again of Jahita. _Yes, he seems excellent at almost anything._ She paused mentally. _Yeah, _almost_ anything_, she thought, remembering how Jahita had panicked when he had cut his hand. That notwithstanding it had appeared that Jahita needed only minimal training in many of the things he learned. The usual explanation was that he was more open to the Force, but Shiala knew that this could not be the only cause. Something was lying beneath his being, something that emanated of wrongness. Eyoul had sensed this first, and claimed that it had all started after his long trip into the jungle. She bowed her head and tried to disperse of the worry that troubled her. Sometimes she would deliberately forget what she felt and only enjoy herself in his company, but after Eyoul had brought this up and the fact that it kept coming back was not a good omen. _There's something amiss._

Another thing that had furthered her concern was Jahita's frequent trips into the jungle. He would stay away for hours and not tell anyone where he had been. No, as Eyoul, she too did not like this at all; therefore, she had decided that she would follow him into the jungle, when he would make another trip. Eyoul had suggested this, since Jahita would possibly more easily notice the Bith, if he were to follow him into the jungle.

_Better safe than sorry_, she thought and breathed deeply, exhaling slowly. _There is no emotion; there is peace._ She opened her eyes and rose from her meditative position. _Time to go to work._ She walked over to her toolbox and picked it up. In it were all the necessary components for her work. The hangar bay was lit by the glowlamps, thus giving enough light for her to do what she needed to. She cast a look at her snubfighter and with a sudden feeling of anticipation, she began her delicate work.

* * *

Vrilas K'tor was not in his room. He was walking under the swirling trees of the jungle that bordered the temples. Speculations had coursed through his mind and always ended with the same conclusion. _I'd be better off in space, doing what I've always done. Despite what all others would say, I just can't get rid of the longing of space – to be a spacer is my path. It must be._ He sighed and turned towards the star-filled sky. Night had come. _The stars. How often haven't I passed by thousands of them on my journeys? How often haven't I battled pirates and other scum, who were trying to best my mates and me?_ He gave a hint of a smile filled with sentimentality. _Ah, yes, my pals. Wonder where they're now?_ His thoughts were then driven to his friends at the Academy. _Barv. I've gotta tell them about me going away for a while._ He inhaled deeply. _Probably for a very long while. I'll probably run into some old customers and rearrange old deals, perhaps even make some new ones. Yeah, who knows?_

The stars suddenly seemed closer to him and their silent songs became all too clear within him. The longing for dangers and adventures coursed strongly through Vrilas' veins. _For all I know, I could be Corellian._ He chuckled, but then remembered once again his friends, as well as the Coruscanti history geek. A sigh escaped him and he lowered his eyes. In front of him stood the ziggurat, where their rooms were situated. _I hate long good-byes, but I owe 'em an explanation, or at least say that I'm leaving._ He tried to take comfort by trying to visualise their reaction if he told them about his old life as a smuggler, but he knew that it would not make things easier. Back in their first days, when they had met each other for the first time they had immediately created a close bond, a strong bond, which had been bound by the Force itself. This Vrilas was sure of. _No running away, I'll tell them tomorrow._ He looked at the Great Temple nearby. _But perhaps I best tell Tionne first._

* * *

Jahita was nearby Vrilas, but yet far away. Actually, he was on top the Great Temple, but well hidden by the night though its star-filled sky. With his legs crossed and sitting comfortably, he was looking at some notes he had just written down on his datapad – the translation of the most interesting part of a small wall section he had found, covered with ancient hieroglyphs that were probably written by the dead Sith Lord himself. His many trips to that particular temple had finally paid off. 

He looked with pleasure at his deciphering work of the phrases he had seen. It was some sort of ancient Sith teaching, possibly written by Exar Kun himself. The very sentences gave Jahita a very cold shiver running down his spine.

'_There is no peace; there is anger!_

_There is no fear; there is power! _

_There is no death; there is immortality!_

_There is no weakness; there is the Dark Side!_

_I know no fear! But rather I instil it in my enemies!_

_I am the destroyer of worlds!_

_I know the power of the Dark Side!_

_I am the fire of hate!_

_All the universe bows down before me!_

_I pledge myself to Darkness_

_For I have found true life_

_In the death of the Light!_'

Jahita drew his cloak tighter around him. _Och, the cold is almost unbearable – and what the Ffib was the matter with this bloke, anyway?_

He halted his thoughts. A sudden inspiration had entered him. _If this text speaks the truth, I've found the way to stop the pestilence, which threatens to devour the entire galaxy_…

He began to rewrite some of the words, making unto himself a code of his own. A code that would tell all the reasons for why he had to go and fight the Yuuzhan Vong; why he had to build his lightsabre, thus disobeying his Masters. _Then they'll judge me kindly. This is something I just have to do. I must make peace with my nightmares or they'll just haunt me for the rest of my life, which probably would become miserable. No, the Force is my ally; I follow its guidance. I have been given this great task of repulsing them._

After a few rearrangements, his 'code' had been finished. A smile erupted on his face – a smile of vengeance. _I'll make them pay so dearly. And if I can get hold of some information in the library regarding my abilities I'll slay in millions with the power that I have within me – and no one is going to stop me. No one!_


End file.
